Drug addiction is quite prevalent among the world’s prostitutes. For whatever reason, a huge percentage of them are drug users. Jamaica is having a terrible time right now.
As reported in the Jamaica Gleaner, simmering beneath the surface of Jamaica's illicit sex trade are melancholy tales of drug abuse as local sex workers have turned to ecstasy - the party drug - to cope with the physical and psychological rigors of their job.
A retired prostitute said many use the party drug known on the street as 'X' to alter their persona.
The use of ecstasy by prostitutes compounds Jamaica's 'new' drug problem as earlier this year it was revealed that a shortage of medication containing pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in many cold and flu medicines sold in Jamaica, is being linked to the illegal manufacturing and sale of methamphetamine (commonly called meth).
It is a powerful stimulant that alters the functions of the central nervous system, and pseudoephedrine, it is believed, is being used to 'cook' the hard drug meth.
Ecstasy is a cousin to methamphetamine, because both of them are from the amphetamine class and both drugs have pseudo ephedrine as a precursor.
Ecstasy usually takes the form of a small tablet but it packs a whack. It is a drug that makes you feel close to everybody and your guard comes down.
Other Jamaican prostitutes have resorted to strange concoctions that include energy drinks and other uppers just to make it through their nightly 'ordeal'.
Ecstasy use can produce psychedelic and stimulant side effects such as anxiety attacks, tachycardia, hypertension and hyperthermia. Addiction, high blood pressure, heat stroke and kidney failure are also linked to ecstasy use.
Drug addiction is a serious issue. I can only imagine what goes through the minds of the Jamaican prostitutes and can understand their need to transform themselves into something different. But ecstasy and other drugs are not the answer. As many of the women admit, they do the job because they have kids at home and they need to be fed. A good drug class would educate them on why not to use these substances.