Very much a part of the club scene, this little understood drug has
killed many young people to date and doctors are concerned about the long
term effects from continued use which will not become evident for some
years.
What is Ecstasy? Ecstasy is chemically known
as MDMA or Methyline Dioximethampetamine and, like amphetamines, it is a
stimulant to the central nervous system. Sometimes MDMA is classified as
a hallucinogen: this is due to its chemical make up. If the chemicals are
combined to produce MDMA (or MDA), it is less hallucinogenic than
dimethoxy-methylphenethylamine (DOM) which is purported to have similar effects
to amphetamines and LSD. In low doses, therefore, Ecstasy does not seem to
have hallucinogenic effects: however, when more is taken (which would correspond
with the stronger chemical compositions) it does.
Ecstasy takes the form of pills, though there are scores of different
types. According to some sources, six new designs are produced every month.
Some include red and black capsules, known as "Dennis the Menace", "White
Doves" - white pills with dove imprints, "hamburgers" - white or off-white
tablets and "DiscoBiscuits" - large flat white tablets with brown
speckles.
History. MDA was first synthesized in Germany
in 1898 and marketed as an appetite suppressant in 1914. In 1941, the drug
was tested as a relief for Parkinsons disease but dropped when one trial
subject experienced rigidity of the muscles. At about the same time, the
drug was dropped as an appetite suppressant because strange side effects
were noted. In the 1960s it was widely used as the "love drug," but was
controlled, first in the U.S. and later in Britain. MDMA (Ecstasy) was synthesized
in 1914 and gained prominence around 1972 as a legal alternative to MDA.
Some therapists in the U.S. used it as a means of reducing hostility
in marriage counseling sessions but the recreational use became so wide spread
that it was banned in 1985. In the UK, however, it, along with all other
amphetamine-like substances, was controlled in 1977. It was designated a
Class A drug which incurs the stiffest penalties under the law. It is also
a Schedule I drug which means that doctors cannot prescribe it and a license
is required in order to conduct research on it.
Effects on the Body. Ecstasy is taken because
of its reputation of producing a feeling of expansive well-being. It also
creates a "high" that masks the feeling of tiredness allowing the user to
go without sleep (to party or "rave all night"). There are physical changes
in the body that produce these effects and also account for the adverse -
and often dangerous - side effects. Any drug that enters the body gets to
the brain, which is the control center for all our thoughts, actions and
sensations. All of these are controlled by different chemical messengers
call neurotransmitters. Ecstasy effects a neurotransmitter called serotonin,
which controls our sensations of hunger, fatigue and depression. If adequate
amounts of serotonin are being produced by the brain, we will sense hunger
and fatigue when our bodies need nourishment or rest; we will also feel
emotionally stable. If the brain produces too little serotonin, we feel depressed
and not tend to our bodies needs of nourishment and rest.
Dangers of Ecstasy Ecstasy is a stimulant which
means that it causes more neurotransmitters to be increased at a greater
speed, thereby causing a "high." The problem with this excess production
of serotonin occurs when, as the effects of the drug wear off, the brain
cannot refuel. In other words, supplies of serotonin are temporarily used
up - and the person "crashes" - that is, becomes severely depressed and very
tired. Continued use can result in permanent damage to the brain. Some research
has pointed to symptoms similar to those of patients with Alzheimer's in
the brains of animals injected with Ecstasy. Whether or not this is proven
conclusively, it has aiready been found in research reported from Guy's Hospital
Poisons Unit that Ecstasy is the only drug to permanently damage the nerve
terminals in the brain. Doctors are also worried that in 10 to 15 years there may be a generation of suicidally depressed people who have used
Ecstasy on a regular basis.
In addition to the direct effects of Ecstasy on the brain, there are
side-effects to the body which are noted in the reported fatalities to users.
If users have not noticed they are getting tired due to the stimulating
effects of the drug, they would continue to dance, raising their body temperature
and tiring or straining muscles and impacting their bones. If, as in many
clubs, users have been drinking alcohol, which is a dehydrating substance,
their bodies would become dehydrated. This, along with the raised body
temperature has caused collapse and possible failure of body organs like
the kidneys, heart and/or liver.
Another frightening report has been that of internal hemorrhaging
(bleeding) in users. This could be due to Ecstasy having anti-coagulative
properties (it stops blood from clotting) leading to the risk of users bleeding
to death. There is also the risk of drug sellers deceiving users wishing
to buy Ecstasy; a wide range of products have been passed off as Ecstasy.
These range from pure amphetamines, paracetamol, methadone and any mixture
of these with pure Ecstasy in addition to some more alarming items such as
worming pills and fish tank oxygenating tablets. Apart from the user conducting
a chemical analysis on every tablet they take, they will have no guarantee
as to the purity of the product.
For more information about Ecstasy, Alcohol and Other Drugs, as well
as related topics
click
here. The above information is courtesy of the
Connecticut Clearinghouse.
