This is the absolute king of the club and "rave" drugs and the production, distribution and sale of Ecstasy is big, big, business.  Like most drugs sold on the street, the problem is not necessarily what you think you're buying, but what you're actually being sold.  And unless you're a chemist with a mobile lab, the only way to test the product is to volunteer as the lab rat.

Short History Of Ecstasy: (MDMA)

There's a great deal of debate as to the exact and true origins of Ecstasy, or MDMA, but it's generally agreed that it was first patented in 1913 by the German chemical company Merck and it was designed to be used as a diet pill.  There are rumors that it was tested as a truth serum by the military in the early 1950's, but Ecstasy sat fairly dormant until Alexander Shulgin started to use it in his psychiatry practice in the late 1970s.  It's use in psychotherapy was kept fairly quiet to prevent abuse.

Classified as an "empathoagen" (a class of drugs that are said to produce "empathy") psychiatrists began to use Ecstasy with their patients to clear their defenses and break down certain inhibitions to free-flowing communication. The most prominent (and perhaps desirable effect for some) of ecstasy is how it tends to soften feelings of guilt, remorse and fear.  For the introvert who wants to deal with their problem superficially with a drug, Ecstasy would obviously seem appealing.  The original name for Ecstasy was actually "Empathy," but it was changed to Ecstasy to make it sound more marketable.

Ecstasy is now one of the most popular drugs found at "raves" and other gatherings of young people.  The drug is in huge demand and it's even said that 5% of all British currency has traces of Ecstasy on it.  (Who measured that?)

Want to see what Ecstasy actually does inside the brain?  Click on the picture below, and when you get to the "mouse party," find the mouse on Ecstasy, put them in the chair, and get into their head.

How It's Used

Ecstasy is usually taken orally in pill form and the near psychedelic effects can last between four and six hours.   Ecstasy heightens and enhances sensations of sight, sound and touch.  Music exerts a powerful influence on the user, so Ecstasy or "E" is ideally suited to dance music, hip hop and so on..  Many users of Ecstasy report that the experience is very pleasant and highly controllable. Some feel that even when they're "peaking," (at the high end of the high) they can easily re-attach to reality to deal with an important matter.  This is not hard to fathom, as different drugs affect different people differently.

So like other drugs and even alcohol, Ecstasy can be a great high for some, and for others it can be a bit of a nightmare.  The negative psychological effects of Ecstasy include confusion, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, drug craving, and paranoia. Adverse physical effects include muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, feeling faint, tremors, rapid eye movement, and sweating or chills. Because of the drug's ability to increase heart rate and blood pressure, an extra risk is involved for people with circulatory problems or heart disease.

Hyperthermia

If you had to list one major risk to health from taking Ecstasy it's hyperthermia - or heatstroke. Some people who have died after taking this drug, died as a result of the body overheating, which can cause failure of vital organs.  Overheating is particularly likely to occur when the drug is taken at a rave or club, where the user is dancing. The stimulant effect of ecstasy can enable people to dance vigorously for long periods, leading to exhaustion and heatstroke.

When an ecstasy user dances to music with a repetitive rhythm as we discussed earlier, it seems they can "lock in" to that repetition and simply go though the same movements over and over again for hours. This is a bit like Pavlov's dog - a reflex reaction. It is particularly dangerous as the user may be unaware of impending heatstroke.  Some clubs in both North America, the U.K. and Europe provide "chill rooms" for dancers to cool off in.

Are You Really Taking Ecstasy?

Clearly, the biggest risk with using a drug like Ecstasy is the fact that you have no way of knowing whether you're actually taking Ecstasy!   PMA (paramethoxyamphetamine) is an illicit, synthetic hallucinogen that has stimulant effects similar to Ecstasy.  However, when users take PMA believing they are ingesting Ecstasy, they often think they have taken weak Ecstasy because PMA’s effects take longer to appear. They then ingest more of the substance to attain a better high, which can result in death by overdose.  Other adulterants commonly added to Ecstasy include mescaline, methamphetamine, codeine and dextromethorphan.

For example, here in Canada, The RCMP Drug Awareness Service tested 110 samples of "Ecstasy" that was seized from various places.  Only 20% was in fact, pure Ecstasy.  The rest of the samples (80%) were cut or adulterated with combinations of other drugs including methamphetamine, heroin, ephedrine, and caffeine.

Other studies and tests confirm that about three quarters of people buying Ecstasy at raves and concerts believe they're buying the "real deal."  Yet when the so-called "Ecstasy" is analyzed, only about a fifth of Ecstasy tablets are pure, and only about a tenth of capsules are pure.  (capsules are easier to adulterate)  In some cases when large amounts of Ecstasy have been seized and analyzed, sometimes as much as 75% of the capsules contain no Ecstasy whatsoever.

In The U.K., half of all Ecstasy tablets seized contained no MDMA (the active ingredient in Ecstasy.)  Some tablets will also contain LSD, amphetamine, MDA, and Ketamine.  In Australia, where there's tons of Ecstasy, as recently as September 2006, they're saying that if you buy Ecstasy and that's what you actually get, it's almost a fluke.  According to officials who seize and test Ecstasy there, 95% of the time what you're really buying is a little Ecstasy and a lot of methamphetamine or other lower grade amphetamine.

So even if you're not taking anything life threatening, you're still being "punked."  And if the Ecstasy you think you're taking is actually Ketamine or Rohypnol, instead of dancing and partying your brains out, you may wake up in a stranger's bedroom with your pants down at your knees.  That's not meant to scare anyone, it's just a fact of life and you'd be surprised to learn how many people it's happened to (male and female) that don't generally like to talk about it.  Obviously, it's not like you're going to include that in your profile on Facebook or MySpace.

Something To Think About

Anybody who's dealt drugs will to tell you that it's a "business of compromise."  (Trust us on this one, we know LOTS of former drug dealers.)  And the first thing they have to "compromise" is their conscience and their sense of morals, because they know full well that they're going to seriously screw up some people's lives by doing what they do.  Usually they rationalize this by saying, "Hey, if I don't do it, somebody else will, so why shouldn't I make the money?"  And they think that way because drug dealing is a business - period.  And businesses don't like to lose money.

So even if the most reliable dealer gets ripped off with some adulterated "E," no matter what's in it, they're going to pass that along and get rid of it as quickly as possible.  That's just the way it is, it's a business and there's no room in business for anything but making the money.  And who knows who gets the adulterated "E."  Maybe you?  Maybe not you.  You just never know.  It's something to think about.     

Street Names:  (these are some of them, not all)

Adam, B-bombs, Bens, Clarity, Cristal, Dex, Decadence, Disco, Biscuit, Scooby, Love Drug, Hug Drug, "E," Snacks, Sweeties, Wheels, "X," XTC.

Symptoms Of Use: (regular dose)

Raised pulse, raised temperature, general feeling of wellness, feeling of a "rush," nausea, heightened affection for others, raised blood pressure, over-confidence, teeth grinding, jaw clenching, (baby pacifiers are often used to offset the teeth clenching) sweating, blurred vision, loss of appetite, anxiety.

Symptoms Of Use: (excessive dose)

Convulsions, vomiting, sensation of floating, irrational and bizarre behavior, hallucinations, paranoia, high temperature, high blood pressure, rapid pulse and in rare cases, death.

Possible Outcomes Of Long-term Use

• Permanent damage to the brain cells that make the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is involved in mood regulation, body temperature, appetite and sex drive.
• Liver damage.
• Delusions.
• Panic attacks.
• Depression
• Risk of HIV, hepatitis infection, blood poisoning or skin abscesses if ecstasy in powder form is injected using shared needles.
• Hallucinogenic flashbacks that can occur weeks, months or even years after taking the drug.
• Susceptibility to having unprotected sex, which increases the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections.
• The need to use other drugs to balance or counter the side effects of ecstasy.
• Death.

Symptoms Of Someone "Coming Down" From The Ecstasy High:

Irritability, depression, exhaustion, fatigue, insomnia, paranoia, difficulty in concentrating.

Treatment Options

There's no consensus that we're aware of as to whether Ecstasy is physically addictive or not. However, there's no question that it's hard for many people to stop taking Ecstasy despite the negative side-effects they experience.  So it's safe to say that for some people, Ecstasy use becomes at least psychologically addictive.  In other words, while the body may not physically crave the drug on a pharmacological level, the individual may crave it emotionally, or psychologically, and that's still going to have a major impact on your quality of life, or lack of it.

Currently, treatment options for Ecstasy include detoxification, individual counseling and group therapy.  You may want to begin by consulting your doctor, particularly if they have a connection or working relationship with the treatment community.  Failing that, you are welcome to contact us at All Positive Options.

It Is What It Is

In a perfect world, no one would need, or desire to take Ecstasy, we'd all be "ecstatic" enough.  But we don't live in a perfect world and people are going to take Ecstasy and that's just reality.  So if you, or someone you care about is using Ecstasy, if nothing else, try to make sure you always know what you're taking and have a backup plan.  Make sure your friends know what you've taken and how much.  Some kids we've talked to even break a little chunk off and keep it just in case it's needed for analysis in an emergency.

And lastly, try and get to know someone who seems to be having as much fun as everyone else, but doesn't use drugs to get there.  They've got a secret to life worth knowing, at any age.

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