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Ecstasy
Use
by
Andrew D. Carson, Ph.D.
Ecstasy, or MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine), also called "E," is sometimes classified as a hallucinogen (Frohberg & Herting, 1999) or stimulant. It is an analog of methamphetamine, but a differs in minor ways, so that originally it was not addressed by most drug laws. After MDMA was made illegal in most places, so-called "herbal ecstasy" was created from another naturally occurring stimulant, ephedra, varieties of which grow wild in the Western United States and China (see Weil & Rosen, 1983, p. 55).
MDMA has several effects, including (in many studies) enhanced sociability (Greer & Tolbert, 1986). Some reports of hallucinations while under the influence may be due either to relatively strong doses of pure MDMA or mixing with hallucinogens such as LSD (see "Hallucination due to E?"). However, the greatest use of ecstasy seems to be in the dance culture associated with "rave" parties, consistent with anecdotal reports of users of enhanced sociability and euphoria. Rave parties have become serious commercial enterprises, much like large bars offering alcohol, except that they tend to support the sale and use of ecastasy and other "club drugs." Repeated use of ecstasy reportedly has some negative effects on various cognitive and emotional functions, which themselves will affect vocational performance away from the rave scene.
There is as yet no consensus as to why ecstasy seems to promote sociability.
Links:
Ecstasy.org. According to the site,
provides "objective, authoritative and up to date information about
the drug ecstasy (principally MDMA)."
Hallucination due
to E? (from Ecstacy.org).
The
Sociabilisers: A Psychopharmacological Revolution (from Ecstasy.org).
MDMA/Ecstasy
(Australian Drug Foundation).
MDMA
(from Encyclopedia.com).
Ephedrine
(from Encyclopedia.com).
Article (Greer &
Tolbert, 1986).
MDMA, in Factfile
on Drugs (BBC News).
MDMA testimony
before United States Congress, July 30, 2001 (Drug Enforcement Administration).
References to citations in the
text.
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Updated March 16, 2008
Page and site © 2008 Andrew Carson,
all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted.
Credits:
1 ecstasy pill and powder. Believed
to be in the public domain, from http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/prevention/govphoto.html