Ecstasy

Ecstasy - MDMA
MDMA, also known as Ecstasy (chemical name 3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine), is a synthetic, psychoactive drug possessing stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. MDMA possesses chemical variations of the stimulant amphetamine or methamphetamine, and a hallucinogen, most often mescaline. MDMA is a "mood elevator" that produces a relaxed, euphoric state.

Ecstasy was first produced in 1913 by a German company, possibly to be used as an appetite suppressant. MDMA has no approved medical use in the U.S. It was originally intended as a weight-loss (anorectic) drug, but because of its side effects, MDMA was never marketed. Chemically, it is an analogue of MDA, a drug that was popular in the 1960s.

In the late 1970s, MDMA was used by a small group of therapists in the United States to facilitate psychotherapy. Illicit use of the drug did not become popular until the late 1980s and early 1990s. Before it was made illegal in 1985, MDMA was used by psychiatrists as a therapeutic tool. Studies are currently under way in Spain and Israel assessing MDMA's effectiveness in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). There is much controversy over the use of MDMA for this purpose, a discussion that is beyond the scope of this article.

MDMA is frequently used in combination with other drugs. However, it is not often consumed with alcohol, as alcohol is believed to diminish its effects. It is most often distributed at late-night parties called "raves," nightclubs and rock concerts. As the rave and club scene expands to metropolitan and suburban areas across the country, MDMA use and distribution are increasing as well.

MDMA is taken orally, usually in tablet form and sometimes as a capsule, in doses ranging from 50 to 150mg. A normal dose is around 100 to 125mg. "Black market" ecstasy tablets vary widely in strength, and often contain other drugs. The size of the pill is not necessarily related to the dose. Its effects peak at about 4 hours and last approximately 4 to 6 hours.

How much does it cost?
It costs as little as 25 to 50 cents to manufacture an Ecstasy tablet in Europe, but the street value of that same tablet can be as high as $40, with one typically selling for between $20 and $30. (Source: the U.S., DEA, 2002.) In Europe, the cost can be a bit less.


Effects of MDMA

Users of the drug say that it produces profoundly positive feelings, empathy for others, elimination of anxiety and extreme relaxation. MDMA is also said to suppress the need to eat, drink or sleep, enabling users to endure 2- to 3-day parties. Consequently, MDMA use sometimes results in severe dehydration or exhaustion.

While it is not physically addictive like heroin or cocaine, MDMA can cause other adverse effects, including nausea, chills, sweating, increases in body temperature, tremors, involuntary teeth clenching, muscle cramping and blurred vision. MDMA users also report aftereffects of anxiety, paranoia and depression. An MDMA overdose is characterized by high blood pressure, faintness, panic attacks and, in more severe cases, loss of consciousness, seizures and a drastic rise in body temperature.

MDMA overdoses can be fatal, as they may result in heart failure or extreme heatstroke. Don't try to treat a person in such a condition yourself. Call 911; if you can't, get the victim to an emergency center.


Is MDMA Addictive?

Ecstasy is not physically addictive. However, the drug can often take on great importance in people’s lives, and some people become rather compulsive in their use. Taken too frequently, MDMA loses its effect on most users, but many users will still continue to take it.

Secret laboratories operating throughout Western Europe--primarily in the Netherlands and Belgium--manufacture significant quantities of the drug in tablet, capsule or powder form. Although the vast majority of MDMA consumed domestically is produced in Europe, a limited number of MDMA labs operate in the United States.


MDMA traffickers consistently use brand names and logos as marketing tools and to distinguish their product from that of competitors. The logos are produced to coincide with holidays or special events. Among the more popular logos are butterflies, lightning bolts, and four-leaf clovers.


The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) estimates that nationwide hospital emergency-room mentions for MDMA rose dramatically from 70 in 1993 to 2,850 in 1999. Seizures of MDMA have also increased drastically. Over a 6-year period, seizures of MDMA tablets submitted to DEA laboratories have risen from a total of 196 in 1993 to 143,600 in 1998. Seizures from January through May 1999 total over 216,300 MDMA tablets; the 1999 figure will most likely double the 1998 figure.

Remember: Ecstasy is illegal, and a conviction for possession can carry long prison sentences--not a great thing for a future employer to find out. The following information is from the Drug Enforcement Administration; we are reprinting it with their verbal permission. (See dea.gov for more.)

In the year 2000, more than 6.4 million people ages 12 and older reported that they have used Ecstasy at least once in their lives.
Ecstasy is popular among middle-class teenagers and young adults, and that popularity is not decreasing.
Ecstasy is sold primarily at nightclubs and bars, at underground nightclubs sometimes called "acid houses," or at "raves."
United States law enforcement seized 17 secret Ecstasy laboratories in the U.S. in 2001, compared to seven seized in 2000.

Update: An NIDA-supported study has provided the first direct evidence that chronic use of MDMA, causes brain damage in people. Using advanced brain-imaging techniques, the study found that MDMA harms neurons that release serotonin, a brain chemical thought to play an important role in regulating memory and other functions.

In a related study, researchers found that heavy MDMA users have memory problems that persist for at least 2 weeks after they have stopped using the drug. Both studies suggest that the extent of damage is directly correlated with the amount of MDMA use.

"The message from these studies is that MDMA does change the brain, and it looks like there are functional consequences to these changes," said Dr. Joseph Frascella of NIDA's Division of Treatment Research and Development. That message is particularly significant for young people who participate in large, all-night dance parties known as “raves,” which are popular in many cities around the Nation. NIDA's epidemiologic studies indicate that MDMA use has escalated in recent years among college students and young adults who attend these social gatherings.

There are sites on the web that have posted "recipes" for homemade Ecstasy. Please do not play chemist at home; besides the hazard involved when mixing chemicals, you could get busted. Explain that to your employer or during a college entrance interview.
(Source of information: U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration. Other sources: several narcotics officers who requested to remain anonymous.)