Drug Information - Ecstasy Addiction
What is ecstasy?
MDMA or ecstasy 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.
MDMA, called "Adam," "ecstasy," or "XTC" on the street, is a synthetic,
psychoactive (mind-altering) drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic
properties. Its chemical structure (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is
similar to two other synthetic drugs, MDA and methamphetamine, which are known
to cause brain damage.
Health Hazards
Beliefs about MDMA are reminiscent of the claims made about LSD in the 1950s
and 1960s, which proved to be untrue. According to its proponents, MDMA can
make people trust each other and can break down barriers between therapists and
patients, lovers, and family members.
Many of the risks users face with MDMA use are similar to those found with the
use of amphetamines and cocaine. They are:
Psychological difficulties, including confusion, depression, sleep problems,
drug craving, severe anxiety, and paranoia - during and sometimes weeks after
taking MDMA (even psychotic episodes have been reported). Physical symptoms
such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision,
rapid eye movement, faintness, and chills or sweating.
Increases in heart rate and blood pressure, a special risk for people with
circulatory or heart disease.
Recent research findings also link MDMA use to long-term damage to those parts
of the brain critical to thought and memory. It is thought that the drug causes
damage to the neurons that use the chemical serotonin to communicate with other
neurons. In monkeys, exposure to MDMA for 4 days caused brain damage that was
evident 6 to 7 years later. This study provides further evidence that people
who take MDMA may be risking permanent brain damage.
Also, there is evidence that people who develop a rash that looks like acne
after using MDMA may be risking severe side effects, including liver damage, if
they continue to use the drug.
MDA, the parent drug of MDMA, is an amphetamine-like drug that has also been
abused and is similar in chemical structure to MDMA. Research shows that MDA
destroys serotonin-producing neurons in the brain, which play a direct role in
regulating aggression, mood, sexual activity, sleep, and sensitivity to pain.
It is probably this action on the serotonin system that gives MDA its purported
properties of height-ened sexual experience, tranquillity, and conviviality.
MDMA also is related in its structure and effects to methamphetamine, which has
been shown to cause degeneration of neurons containing the neurotransmitter
dopamine. Damage to these neurons is the underlying cause of the motor
disturbances seen in Parkinson's disease. Symptoms of this disease begin with
lack of coordination and tremors and can eventually result in a form of
paralysis.
Extent of Use
Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG)*
MDMA is used most often by young adults and adolescents at clubs, raves (large,
all-night dance parties), and rock concerts.
Its abuse is increasingly reported in the 20 metropolitan areas included in the
CEWG.
In Kings County, Washington, a recently completed survey of young men who have
sex with men showed that MDMA was among the frequently used drugs (20 percent
of the sample).
In Boston, a 1996-97 survey of public schools in Boston found that about 14
percent of male and 7 percent of female 12th graders had used MDMA during their
lifetime. Increased use of MDMA among youth was also reported in Seattle.
Information about MDMA from other CEWG areas include the following:
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In Atlanta, MDMA is reported as a popular stimulant.
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In Chicago, it's use is common in the rave and club scenes, especially in the
North Side.
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In Miami, large-scale sales of drugs such as MDMA are occurring at raves.
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In New Jersey, it is available across the state, particularly in college towns.
Commonly referred to as Ecstasy or XTC, MDMA was first synthesized in 1912 by a
German company possibly to be used as an appetite suppressant. Chemically, it
is an analogue of MDA, a drug that was popular in the 1960s. 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 rarely 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.
How is ecstasy used?
Ecstasy is most often available in tablet form and is usually ingested orally.
It is also available as a powder and is sometimes snorted and occasionally
smoked, but rarely injected. 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. Ecstasy is also
said to suppress the need to eat, drink, or sleep, enabling users to endure
two- to three-day parties. Consequently, ecstasy use sometimes results in
severe dehydration or exhaustion.
Brief Description:
A human-made drug that acts as both a stimulant and a hallucinogen. It is taken
orally as a capsule or tablet.
Street Names:
XTC, X, Adam, hug, beans, love drug.
Effects:
Short-term effects include feelings of mental stimulation, emotional warmth,
enhanced sensory perception, and increased physical energy. Adverse health
effects can include nausea, chills, sweating, teeth clenching, muscle cramping,
and blurred vision.
Statistics and Trends:
According to the 2003 Monitoring the Future survey, 4.5% of 12th graders, 3.0%
of 10th graders, and 2.1% of 8th graders had used Ecstasy in the past year.
What are the short-term effects of ecstasy abuse?
While it is not as addictive as heroin or cocaine, ecstasy can cause other
adverse effects including nausea, hallucinations, chills, sweating, increases
in body temperature, tremors, involuntary teeth clenching, muscle cramping, and
blurred vision. ecstasy users also report after-effects of anxiety, paranoia,
and depression.
An ecstasy 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. ecstasy overdoses can be fatal, as they may
result in heart failure or extreme heat stroke.
The effects start after about 20 minutes and can last for hours. There is a
'rush' feeling followed by a feeling of calm and a sense of well being to those
around, often with a heightened perception of colour and sound. Some people
actually feel sick and experience a stiffening up of arms, legs and
particularly the jaw along with sensations of thirst, sleeplessness, depression
and paranoia. Gives a feeling of energy. Some mild hallucinogenic effects.
Ecstasy Facts
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Ecstasy's psychological effects can include confusion, depression, sleep
problems, anxiety, and paranoia during, and sometimes weeks after, taking the
drug.
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Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University demonstrated that 4 days of
exposure to the drug caused damage that persisted 6 to 7 years later.
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Ecstasy is most commonly used at all night parties called "raves".
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Brain imaging research in humans indicates that MDMA causes injury to the
brain, affecting neurons that use the chemical serotonin to communicate with
other neurons.
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Many of the risks users face with MDMA use are similar to those found with the
use of cocaine and amphetamines.
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Psychological difficulties due to ecstasy include confusion, depression, sleep
problems, drug craving, severe anxiety, and paranoia - during and sometimes
weeks after taking MDMA.
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Physical symptoms due to ecstasy include muscle tension, involuntary teeth
clenching, nausea, blurred vision, rapid eye movement, faintness, and chills or
sweating.
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Ecstasy content varies widely, and it frequently consists of substances
entirely different from MDMA, ranging from caffeine to dextromethorphan.
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Emergency room data indicate that MDMA is increasingly used by marijuana users,
with reports of MDMA in combination with marijuana increasing from 8 in 1990 to
796 in 1999.
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Ecstasy tablets seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration increased from
13,342 in 1996 to 949,257 in 2000.
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MDMA is on the U.S. Schedule I of controlled substances, and is illegal to
manufacture, possess, or sell in the United States.
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Typical doses of ecstasy range from around 80 to 160 milligrams of MDMA when
taken orally.
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When ecstasy is taken by mouth, the effects manifest about 30-45 minutes later.
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MDMA was first synthesized and patented in 1914 by the German drug company
called Merck.
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Memory tests of people who have taken Ecstasy as compared to non-drug users
have shown that the Ecstasy users had lower scores.
Where does ecstasy come from?
Clandestine 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 exiles 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.
Overseas MDMA trafficking organizations smuggle the drug in shipments of 10,000
or more tablets via express mail services, couriers aboard commercial airline
flights, or, more recently, through air freight shipments from several major
European cities to cities in the United States. The drug is sold in bulk
quantity at the mid-wholesale level in the United States for approximately
eight dollars per dosage unit. 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.
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