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NEWS: Users paid to rave on

Tronica

Tronica

Executive Director
Staff member
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Mar 12, 2002
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This was front page of the mX (Melbourne street press) yesterday evening:

mX.jpg


It's kind of old news given we've been paying drug users for their views for *ever*.

I just wish they had added a line at the end "and email xxxx to participate!"

Link to study
 
steve medcraft. you can tell by his choice of words that he is... to put it bluntly
an uneducated fuckwit
 
Wow, they really will pick anything to whine about.

How the hell are they supposed to conduct studies if nobody will participate because there's no incentive?
 
and...yet again...the pills cop it in the public eye
it's becoming comical now. lol
 
As a researcher, I support paying research participants so that all costs are covered and there is a little left over as an appreciation for their time, regardless of whether it's for drug research or other health/social research.

However the idea that there would be no participants if we didn't pay is wrong. The thing is that you would get a much less representative group of drug users if you didn't pay for a study like this one, given it requires a good bit of your time and likely travel time and costs around it. You would still get people who are just genuinely interested in helping research or who just like to chat about drugs! but this wouldn't be as broad a group.

Another example where people contribute without payment is all the online surveys people are doing at the moment. Of course they take less effort and less time out of someone's day, but people still generally do them even though they get no payment.

All in all, I think the 'anti-crime lobbyist' in this article is quite misinformed. We are never going to be able to help people and know what is going on unless we engage with the people who are doing it, it's that simple really!
 
Theyd rather keep their hands over their ears there eyes closed and scream as loudly as possiable "drugs are bad!"
 
Such typical anti drugs bullshit. Probably the stupidest thing has to be "I didn't know the Government had taken up drug dealing", in what sense is reimbersing people for their time "drug dealing" LMFAO.
 
^ I don't know, does the Melbourne MX have the 'here's looking at you' section in the opinions page? I like reading that for some reason, in case someone ever writes me one. ;)

This article is way off the mark however. For a start, implying that people who use ecstasy are going to spend their reimbursement on more drugs. And I don't know who this Steve Medcraft is, must not get much press here in Brisbane, but poor choice for comment. Very poor choice.

Well, what can you expect from a free newspaper?
 
How dumb!

Not least because like the article said, this has been going on for ages. I've done heaps of drug studies for $$, including one where they gave me modafinil and made me do these awful computer and memory tests...

I have thought that it's funny they pay cash though, and I feel uncomfortable sometimes thinking they think I'll just use it to score, but it wouldn't buy much, you usually get like $30.

At my drug clinic, I'm part of a new program where they actually reward you for going; you gather up points for every appointment, clean drug test etc and you can use them to buy can of baked beans or tuna or spaghetti (!) but if you save up some you can get movie tickets or met cards. I love it, I love looking through the catalogue and buying cans of spaghetti ;)
 
^lulz cans of spaghetti. rofl.

I've been involved in a heap of these research projects, they're quite fun to do. I enjoy going through all their lists of chems... hahaha

I always thought of it as they were giving you enough money exactly for a hit of whatever drug pretty much.

I always got $30 for it. not bad for an hours so-called work
 
I did an interview once related to ecstasy use for which I was paid $30, it was meant to be an hour but I ended up talking for closer to two. I started work early that day so I could leave early to attend the interview. If I worked as an independent contractor I'd bill around $80 an hour.

When is "anti-crime lobbyist" Steve Medcraft going to get uppity about the government short-changing drug users for their time? What hourly rate does he charge to make such moronic statements to newspapers? What government body is funding his organisation and how do I complain that my taxes are allowing him to do so? I certainly don't approve. :\
 
It is going to take a long time before there is intelligent discussion about drug use, since it appears in the papers of late that a few crimes are being linked to ecstasy use (by either the prosecutor, defendant or just the journalist). mX is an offshoot of News Ltd papers - and we in QLD know what their stance is. *sigh*

Until the people higher up start to take down the blinkers and not chase after the cheap narrow minded votes, these opinions are going to continue to dominate the papers.

In relation to being paid for surveys - the market research companies also like to pony up good dollars. I remember being paid $90 for 1.5hrs of discussion and they even provided food :) - shame I am not a smoker as the number of times they would call asking me to be part of a discussion group for those associated topics would equal Kev's mid year gift!
 
psycosynthesis said:
This is why the mx is useless even as toilet paper.
Click to expand...

Yup. What was funny was that I rarely actually take one on my daily commute. This was a Friday night and I felt like some complete bullshit to drown out the week, even though I knew I'd have finished reading in 5 mins due to all the crap.

Still, glad I picked it up in the end to have seen this charming front page feature... 8)
 
Mr Blonde, ro answer your question the Melbourne mx does have that "heres looking at you section".
This whole article just makes no sense whatsoever though, as if because someone takes drugs their time isn't worth anything. I suppose it would probably be perfectly alright to reimburse any on the dole, 5 litres of goon a day alcoholics for taking part in a survey on exessive alcohol consumption though. After all, they aren't "real" drug users.
 
drug_mentor said:
Mr Blonde, ro answer your question the Melbourne mx does have that "heres looking at you section".
Click to expand...

Excellent, it's the only worthwhile part of the rag to me. :D
 
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