New APA Advisories Address Internet Gambling, Ecstasy
Gambling without rules or time limits in the privacy of one’s own home is a gambler’s dream, and dreams are coming true with the recent explosion of Internet gambling sites.
As of last year, there were more than 1,300 of these online sites, which are characterized by flashy colors and blinking screens that bring to mind the almighty Vegas casino.
Some of the sites encourage players to start with “demo money” and tout “real” testimonials from players who claimed to have won more money on the sites than they had made at their jobs in an entire year.
One group of potential gamblers has experts particularly concerned. “There are no age limits with Internet gambling,” said
Together with APA’s Division of Public Affairs, Blume and the Committee on Treatment Services for Addicted Patients developed the advisory, which emphasizes the availability of treatment through a number of resources.
The advisory warns that many of the unregulated Internet sites are based outside of the United States and that “an unscrupulous operator can merely close down a site or move its base to another country if challenged.”
Another advisory was issued last fall about the effects on youth of the life-threatening hazards of MDMA, or the club drug Ecstasy, as it is more commonly known (Psychiatric News, January 19). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, while most teen drug use has remained steady over the past few years, MDMA use has risen dramatically. Results from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Study show that 8.2 percent of 12th graders reported use of the drug during the previous year, up from 5.6 percent in 1999.
According to the advisory, MDMA has caused convulsions, delirium, and severe changes in blood pressure, blood clotting, and body temperature—even organ failure resulting in death.
Furthermore, what people pay for is not always what they get. The advisory warns that tablets sold as Ecstasy may be contaminated with other substances, some of which are extremely toxic. “These toxic substances are cheap to manufacture and may act a little like Ecstasy,” said Blume. “The person may not think he or she got a strong enough dose and may take another tablet, and then the person is in real trouble.”
The Internet gambling and MDMA advisories targeted youth in university news publications and the general public in several major metropolitan newspapers such as the Washington Post and the New York Times. The advisories included references for further information.
Both mental health advisories can be found on APA’s Web site at www.psych.org/news_stand/mediaadvisory.cfm. ▪
