Average price of ecstasy in the Netherlands 2008-2022

Between 2008 and 2022, the average price of ecstasy has more than doubled. In 2022, a pill of ecstasy was sold on average for around 4.40 euros, or about half the price of a gram of amphetamine that year. Cannabis was slightly more expensive, at around ten euros, but buying cocaine was by far the most expensive, at 50 euros per gram.

 Ecstasy use on the rise 

Since 1997, the Trimbos Instituut monitors drugs use among teenagers and adults in the Netherlands. Their survey results indicate that in the last 20 years, ecstasy use more than tripled. Whereas in 1997, 2.3 percent of respondents stated to have used the drug at least once, by 2020 this had increased to nearly ten percent. The share of regular users also increased in this period, peaking in 2019 at 1.2 percent. In 2020, 0.8 percent of survey participants answered to have used ecstasy in the past month.

Ecstasy popular among young

According to the most recent survey, ecstasy use was especially popular among the younger generation. Of 20 to 24 years old, over 12 percent had taken a pill in the past year. Among 25-29 years old, this was 8.7 percent. By comparison, only 0.5 percent of the respondents 65 years and older had experience using ecstasy in their lifetime.