WHAT IS ‘ECSTASY’?

Jan 28, 2019 News

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Sometimes called the party pill or the love drug, ecstasy is a chemical and comes in tablets. It is being used more and more around the world, but its dangers are often underestimated.
Here are the facts. Ecstasy first came into widespread use with the emergence of techno music and parties known as ravels, where users stayed up all night dancing for hours on end. Today, ecstasy is also taken at bars, nightclubs, and other places where people meet to party.
Originally, the pills sold as ecstasy contained a specific chemical, MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), which was responsible for its psychoactive effects. But nowadays, drugs sold as ecstasy often contain other substances. The MDMA molecule may or may not be present, and it may be mixed with other substances: stimulants such as amphetamine, methamphetamine, caffeine, and ephedrine; hallucinogens such as LSD, PCP, ketamine, nexus, and PMA (paramethoxyamphetamine); anabolic steroids; and analgesics (such as aspirin). Ecstasy may also be cut with cornstarch or even with soap or detergents!

What does ecstasy look like?
Ecstasy generally comes in tablets of various shapes and colours, often with various designs stamped on them (hearts, stars, butterflies, cloverleaves, etc.). These marks are no guarantee of the quality or purity of the product. Ecstasy is mainly swallowed, but may sometimes be snorted, smoked, or injected intravenously. The dose of MDMA in one tablet can vary from 12 mg all the way up to 131 mg, so the effects too can vary considerably.

EFFECTS AND DANGERS OF ECSTASY
Ecstasy is the prototype of the stimulant hallucinogens–psychoactive substances that have both stimulant and hallucinogenic effects. Though MDMA is technically classified as a hallucinogen because of its effects on the central nervous system, it is derived from amphetamines, which are characterized by their stimulant properties.
In ecstasy, it is these stimulant effects that predominate, causing excitation and feelings of physical and mental prowess while suppressing fatigue, hunger, and pain. The hallucinogenic effects are relatively minor and generally occur only with high doses.
Ecstasy initially causes a feeling of slight anxiety, along with higher blood pressure, a faster heart rate, clenched jaw muscles, damp skin, and a dry mouth. Next, users experience feelings of euphoria (well-being and satisfaction), relaxation, enhanced self-confidence, reduced fatigue, and lowered inhibitions. Users’ senses become more acute, and they find it easier to express emotions and communicate with other people.
In settings quiet enough for conversation, ecstasy users experience a sense of freedom in their interpersonal relations and feel that they are being understood and accepted by one another. They display increased abilities to examine and understand themselves (entactogenic effects), as well as to put themselves in other people’s place and understand what they are feeling (empathogenic effects).
This phase of pleasant sensations is generally followed by one in which users feel tired, sad, depressed, and irritable. This phase may be accompanied by panic attacks and nightmares. Sometimes, users may experience intense anxiety, or feel so depressed three or four days after taking the drug that they think they need to see a doctor.
Some frequent users of ecstasy may lose weight and start to feel weak. They may also experience mood swings, sometimes accompanied by aggressive behaviour. This usage pattern may indicate or lead to serious, lasting psychological problems.
• Using ecstasy can dehydrate you and raise your body temperature, so if you are using ecstasy in an overheated room where you are engaged in intense physical activity such as dancing, you need to keep rehydrating your body and getting outside for some fresh air. It is important to drink small amounts of non-alcoholic liquids at regular intervals and to urinate and take rests frequently.
• Ecstasy can cause a rapid or irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, and various other cardiovascular problems. For people who are predisposed to such problems, ecstasy can make them especially serious. In regular users, ecstasy can also cause hepatitis–sometimes very serious, or even fatal.
• Taking ecstasy together with other substances can increase the undesirable effects. The risks of complications seem to increase with the amount of ecstasy taken, its actual chemical composition, and the individual user’s susceptibility.
• Ecstasy can be dangerous for people who are taking prescription medications, because of the potential interactions, particularly with sildenafil (Viagra®), certain AIDS medications, and certain antidepressants.
• Taking ecstasy is especially dangerous for people with irregular heartbeats, asthma, epilepsy, kidney disease, diabetes, chronic fatigue, or psychological disorders.
The neurological toxicity of ecstasy in human beings is still being assessed.
Most of the scientific research on the effects of ecstasy has been done using animals, in particular non-human primates. These studies have revealed degeneration in the neurons that secrete dopamine and serotonin. Such brain damage may increase the risks of developing certain neuropsychological disorders associated with dopamine or serotonin deficiency. In humans, these effects might not become apparent until several years after someone started taking ecstasy.
Over the long term, use of ecstasy can lead to degenerative illnesses of the central nervous system, or to mental disorders that may include symptoms such as depression.
Some studies suggest that humans who take repeated doses of MDMA over a short period (for example, three doses at three-hour intervals) run a high risk of severely damaging the brain cells that produce dopamine and serotonin. This neurotoxicity may be irreversible.
(http://www.toxquebec.com)

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