Ecstasy: Effects, Risks, and Insights

Ecstasy or MDMA

bulk MDMA MDMA also known as Ecstasy (3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a Schedule I synthetic, psychoactive drug possessing stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. MDMA possesses chemical variations of the stimulant amphetamine or methamphetamine and a hallucinogen, most often mescaline.

Commonly referred to as Ecstasy or XTC, MDMA 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.

Freud ani In the late 1970s, MDMA was used to facilitate psychotherapy by a small group of therapists in the United States. Illicit use of the drug did not become popular until the late 1980s and early 1990s.

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 or capsule form, in doses ranging from 50 to 150 mg. Its effects last approximately four to six hours. Users of the drug say that it produces profoundly positive feelings, empathy for others, elimination of anxiety, and extreme relaxation. Doses of MDMA are often “piggybacked” on each other in a series over just a few hours leading to severe overheating and cardiac emergencies which require medical intervention.

MDMA is also said to suppress the need to eat, drink, or sleep, enabling users to endure two to three day parties. Consequently, MDMA use sometimes results in severe dehydration or exhaustion. While it is not as addictive as heroin or cocaine,

MDMA can cause other adverse effects including nausea, hallucinations, chills, sweating, increases in body temperature, tremors, involuntary teeth clenching, muscle cramping, and blurred vision. MDMA users also report after-effects 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 heat stroke. Call 911! 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 two to three day parties. Consequently, MDMA use sometimes results in severe dehydration or exhaustion.

While it is not as addictive as heroin or cocaine, MDMA can cause other adverse effects including nausea, hallucinations, chills, sweating, increases in body temperature, tremors, involuntary teeth clenching, muscle cramping, and blurred vision. MDMA users also report after-effects 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 heat stroke.

Secretive laboratories operating throughout Western Europe, primarily 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. In addition, in recent years, Israeli organized crime syndicates, some composed of Russian emigres associated with Russian organized crime syndicates, have forged relationships with Western European traffickers and gained control over a significant share of the European market. The Israeli syndicates are currently the primary source to U.S. distribution groups.

The retail price of MDMA sold in clubs in the United States remains steady at twenty to thirty dollars per dosage unit. 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.

While MDMA abuse currently is not as widespread as that of many other drugs, it nonetheless increased significantly — 500 percent — over a five-year period. Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) estimates reveal 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 six-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.

More soon on the use of “Club Drugs”