http://www.brown.edu/Student_Service...od_ecstasy.htm
What is Ecstasy?
Ecstasy is the name for MDMA (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine). MDMA (and its close relation MDA) are classified as enactogens, drugs that have stimulant, hallucinogenic and mood-improving qualities. It was originally developed as a diet aid. Before it was made illegal in 1985, it was used experimentally by mental health professionals in controlled settings to help people in couple's counseling. It began to be used illicitly in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Though Ecstasy use remains rare, its use among teenagers almost doubled between 1998 and 2001 and it is the only drug which has shown a marked increase in consumption in the college population with a 69% increase between 1997 and 1999.
Why do people take Ecstasy?
Ecstasy produces a euphoric high that lasts from 3 to 4 hours by generating a rush of serotonin and a smaller amount of dopamine, the brain messenger molecules that help to regulate mood. Serotonin is the brain chemical that many antidepressants regulate. Users describe Ecstasy as making them empathic, producing a temporary state of openness. Depending on its contents, Ecstasy can also cause mild hallucinogenic effects. Users report that the rush of serotonin is pleasurable and produces both an emotionally relaxed and physically exhilarated state. However, this extremely fast deployment of serotonin can deplete normal serotonin levels and produce depression or malaise after the drug wears off.
Are there short-term dangers of taking Ecstasy?
Pills sold as Ecstasy may not be Ecstasy at all. MDMA purchased on the street is frequently laced with other drugs like cocaine, heroine, PCP, or toxic chemicals like PMA and DXM, atropine, and rat poison. In a 1996 study of Ecstasy content, 19 out of 33 pills (58%) were found to contain less than 25% MDMA. Only 5 pills (15%) were more than 75% MDMA.
Are there long-term consequences to taking Ecstasy?
Although further studies are needed, more and more research suggests that Ecstasy causes serotonin levels to drop below normal, which impairs the brain's ability to learn, retain information and regulate mood. It appears that Ecstasy causes serotonin receptors, which allow the serotonin to fire in the brain, to shrink from overuse. Some evidence shows that restoration of serotonin receptors is possible with continued abstinence from the drug, but that people who have never taken Ecstasy have more functioning serotonin receptors than those who have.
Other studies suggest that regular or heavy Ecstasy use has long-term negative effects on memory and brain function which go well beyond the last pill taken (and seem to continue to increase in spite of long-term abstinence from the drug). One study found that women are particularly vulnerable to damage to the serotonin system by MDMA.
