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Scientific Name: 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine

Slang Names: ADAM, booty juice, disco biscuits, E, essence, hug drug, rave, roll, Scooby snacks, X, XTC

Classification: Schedule I drug, stimulant (speeds up body processes such as heartbeat and blood pressure)

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Ecstasy is not natural, meaning that it is created in a lab from several chemicals through a process called synthesis. Pure ecstasy is white in color, while impure ecstasy is brown in color. However, drugs bought from the street may not contain pure ecstasy and doses of it vary from batch to batch.

Compared to most drugs, ecstasy is newer in the drug market.  It was originally used to treat depression, memory loss, and impulsive behavior, and is now mostly used for recreational purposes.

Also, because ecstasy is a stimulant, it works fast to speed up processes in the body. When someone becomes high off of this drug, the high can last from 3-6 hours.

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Because ecstasy is often found at parties and is distributed more often due to increasing popularity, the drug is more readily available for teens to experiment with. Peer pressure is also common in places such as parties, so teens could be more convinced to try the drug compared to when they are alone.

Ecstasy also has desired effects that appeal to teens. For example, people who take the drug wish to experience feelings of comfort, concentration, and self confidence. Teens often want to feel these emotions, so they are more likely to try the drug in order get those effects.

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When people take ecstasy, they hope to feel feelings of elation, comfort, arousal, self-confidence, and energy.  Some even say that the drug sharpens their senses and causes feelings of floating.  However, negative effects usually follow.

Those negative effects include depression, difficulty concentrating, and disturbances in sleep. Feelings of awareness are replaced with feelings of anxiety.  Because the drug affects the neurotransmitters of serotonin and dopamine, mood, emotion, sleep, perception are also affected.

Ecstasy is also known to cause irregular heartbeat, which increases the chance for heart attack, stroke, or other types of heart failures.  Because it is a stimulant, it also increases body temperature, which can cause severe liver inflammation, abnormal blood clotting, and even death.

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Ecstasy is synthesized from chemicals such as piperonyl methylketone, piperonal, isosafrole, or safrole. Safrole
is found in a tree grown in the United States and South America.

With herbal ecstasy, the main components are a combination of legal herbs that act as stimulants.  The drug is sold in tablet form as Cloud 9, Herbal Bliss, Ritual Spirit, Herbal X, etc. Ecstasy
tablets are sold in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes and images such as smiley faces are stamped on.

When taking ecstasy, most users take it orally. However different forms of ecstasy (such as the powder form) some prefer to inhale or inject it.

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Ecstasy was first created in 1910 by German scientists studying amphetamines.  A patent was taken out in 1914.

It later resurfaced during the Cold War. Ecstasy was one of the drugs tested by the US Army to see if the drug would produce violent psychotic behavior. Later in the '60s, chemists started making their own batches and experimenting with them, believing that it would have some value of people dealing with mental disorders.

In the '70s, ecstasy was not considered illegal, but no companies were manufacturing the drug. Therefore, chemists started making their own batches to sell to psychiatrists. Since then, people found recreational uses for ecstasy.  Although originally used at parties, it has spread to private homes, high schools, college dorms, and even shopping malls.

Later in the '80s, the drug was deemed as a Schedule I drug, therefore deemed illegal to make, use, or sell ecstasy anywhere in the United States.

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Ecstasy was banned by the Drug Enforcement Administration in the 1980s and was considered a Schedule I drug.  It was deemed to have no medical uses and a high potential for abuse.  It is now illegal to use, manufacture, or sell ecstasy in the United States.

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"Ecstasy (MDMA)." UXL Encyclopedia of Drugs and Addictive Substances, edited by Barbara C. Bigelow, vol. 3, UXL, 2006, pp. 299-316. Gale Virtual Reference Library, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=lom_inac&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX3448100054&asid=461e0d2af1ccf423b15d2be331dae8fe. Accessed 21 Mar. 2017.

"Ecstasy." The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health, edited by Laurie J. Fundukian and Jeffrey Wilson, 2nd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2008, pp. 403-408. Gale Virtual Reference Library, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=lom_inac&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX2699900153&asid=c1bd49c3b8beb007f735d066e0311190. Accessed 21 Mar. 2017.

Lopez, Marsha F. "Ecstasy (MDMA)." Drugs and Controlled Substances: Information for Students, edited by Stacey L. Blachford and Kristine Krapp, Gale, 2003, pp. 156-164. Gale Virtual Reference Library, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=lom_inac&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX3402000082&asid=e88a138c5451a1604ff8c213660b3fdd. Accessed 21 Mar. 2017.

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