Users enjoy ecstacy's general feeling of well-being. Popularized by all-night raves, ecstacy has become increasingly available and has permeated far beyond raves to clubs and other social atmospheres.
Often labeled as a designer drug, ecstacy's roots are actually in psychology. Reports of ecstacy being synthesized date as far back as 1898 when it was first marketed as an appetite suppressant.
In 1941, the drug had almost been approved to help suffers of Parkinson's disease, but was abandoned, due to the rigidity in the muscles found by test subjects. Most recently, in the1960s, ecstacy had been reintroduced for drug-assisted therapy in reducing hostility in marriage counseling and resolving depression, insomnia and nightmares. But ecstacy was not effective. In fact, it has often triggered the very symptoms it sought to cure.
Nonetheless, the side effects of the drug had the hallucinogenic properties and increased sensory experiences, which were appealing and thus provided the market to sell ecstacy for a non-psychological purpose. Ecstacy became known as the "love drug" and its use became so rampant through recreational use that it was banned in 1985.
Most of the tablet forms of ecstasy sold to users range in price and quality. White Budda, Y2K, PL are the street names of the many types one can choose from. A single pill can be as low at $10 and up to $40. Most of the time, ecstacy is laced with other drugs, common ingredients found in tablets include heroin and LSD that serve to intensify feelings already set forth by ecstacy itself.
A study conducted by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies shows that 77 percent of ecstacy pills taken contain unknown substances. Some pill manufacturers may also try to pass off similar drugs such as amphetamines, paracetamol and methadone in the pills they sell.
Users typically come under an influence similar to a mild amphetamine, a result of the active amphetamine derivative 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) present in ecstacy. Specifically, it increases the brain's supply of serotonin, the neurotransmitter in the mind that controls hunger, fatigue and depression.
When there is a low level of serotonin, one tends to feel depressed and neglects the body's needs and this typically occurs after the high of ecstacy subsides as the brain cannot refuel and it is temporarily used up.
The sympathetic nervous system is activated, which results in increased tactile perception and muscle tension, which is most prominently seen in the clenched jaws of users who use pacifiers to soften the bite.
Sensory experiences are enhanced and intensified.
Ecstacy's effects are often slow, as users must wait up to an hour for its effects to occur. Afterwards, the drug's high can last from four to six hours.
Ecstacy has been long viewed as a drug with little negative effects. This is due in part to the relatively short time that ecstacy has been on the drug scene, which has only begun to soar in popularity in the last 15 years.
The long term effects of ecstacy are still being followed. Scientists predict that chronic users will experience disrupted memory formation due to the damage that MDMA causes to the neurons that release serotonin.
Today, ecstacy is seen as an increasing threat, as its use becomes more and more popular. The federal government of England has classified ecstacy as a Class A drug, along with which carries the stiffest penalties. Similarly, in the United States, the government is beginning to respond to the increased use and trafficking of ecstacy as more legislation is being introduced into Congress.
Still, as demand increases, manufacturers scramble to meet it. Domestically, there are often clandestine manufacturers who risk chemical dangers in synthesizing the product as inexperienced chemists and dangers with the law in obtaining the chemicals in mass quantities for their production. The supply continues to increase, as drug use by teens and college students has slowed, the drug use of ecstacy is on the rise. Thus, it is certain that ecstacy will continue to be in the forefront of the drug scene.