What is Ecstasy/MDMA?
MDMA (3-4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) or "Ecstasy" is a synthetic psychoactive drug — chemically similar to both methamphetamines and the hallucinogen mescaline.
What are the Street Names for Ecstasy?
Street or slang names include Adam, bean, clarity, E, essence, eve, lover's speed, roll, Stacy, X and XTC.
How is Ecstasy Taken?
Ecstasy can be produced as a pill, caplet or in liquid form. It is most commonly used as a pill, the shape and design of which may vary. Pills are usually white, yellow or brown, but can come in any color, and are sometimes branded with symbols or logos.
How Does Ecstasy Affect the User?
Ecstasy is a stimulant with mildly hallucinogenic effects. Short-term effects include feelings of mental stimulation, emotional warmth, enhanced sensory perception, and increased physical energy.
Adverse effects include nausea, chills, sweating, teeth clenching, muscle cramping, increased heart rate and blood pressure and blurred vision.
What are the Dangers of Ecstasy Abuse?
Ecstasy users face many of the same risks as users of other stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines. These include increases in heart rate and blood pressure (a special risk for people with circulatory problems or heart disease) and other symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating.
Overdose
An adverse reaction to or overdose of Ecstasy can result in:
Extremely high body temperatures
High blood pressure
Hallucinations
Increased heart rate
Breathing problems
Death
In high doses, Ecstasy can interfere with the body's ability to regulate temperature. This can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), resulting in liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system failure. Ecstasy abuse can lead to coma or death when the user drinks too much water at one time (hyponatremia). Hyponatremia is a condition where drinking too much fluid swells the brain and causes coma.
Because Ecstasy can interfere with its own metabolism (breakdown in the body), potentially harmful levels can be reached by repeated drug use within short intervals.
Warning Signs of Overdose
Feeling hot or unwell
Becoming confused, unable to speak clearly
Headache
Vomiting
Dehydration: not sweating or problems urinating
Racing heart or pulse when resting
Fainting or collapsing
Loss of control over body movements
Tremors
What are the Long Term Effects of Ecstasy Use?
Long term psychological effects include confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug craving, and severe anxiety. These problems can occur during use, and sometimes days or weeks after taking MDMA.
Recent findings also connect Ecstasy use to memory loss. Ecstasy depletes serotonin, a very important chemical in the brain which is involved in the regulation of mood, sleeping and eating habits, as well as the thinking and behavior process, sexual function, and sensitivity to pain.
Research on animals has shown that Ecstasy may damage the parts of the brain that control mood, thinking, and judgment. Damage to animals' brains was evident six to seven years later.
Dangerous Impurities
Like all illicit drugs, Ecstasy is dangerous because that there are no controls over production. Ingredients are hard to obtain and manufacturers often use substitutes. There is no way to measure the toxicity or predict exactly what will happen when the drug is taken.
What is Herbal Ecstasy?
Herbal Ecstasy is a combination of herbs mixed with ephedrine (ma huang) or pseudo-ephedrine and caffeine from the kola nut. Though not currently classified as a controlled substance, Herbal Ecstasy shares many of the same qualities and effects as Ecstasy/MDMA. Reports of adverse reactions include liver failure, elevated blood pressure, strokes, and death. A Federal ban on Herbal Ecstasy is under consideration, and many states have already banned the sale of Herbal Ecstasy. Street or slang names include cloud 9, GWM, herbal bliss, herbal X, rave energy, ritual spirit, ultimate Xphoria and X.
Treatment Options
If you or someone you know is struggling with Ecstasy abuse, email Phoenix House at drughelp@phoenixhouse.org to find out more about our treatment programs, ask for a referral or get a professional assessment. If you find yourself in an emergency situation, call 911 immediately.
Photos courtesy of the DEA
Information, in part, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse
