News / Education
Ecstasy Or Death At the Club MDMA Abuse
Ambulances frequently park outside Raves
While it might seem to make the dance floor more fun, for some, it is their Swan Dance.
An estimated 12.4 million Americans aged 12 or older tried ecstasy at least once in their lifetimes, representing 5% of the U.S. population in that age group, according to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health (NSDUH).
Ecstasy is a synthetic drug chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. (The main component of ecstasy is methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA.)
Myths abound about both the short term effects and long-term consequences of this drug. One reason for the rapid rise in the drug’s popularity is that many young people believe that MDMA is a new safe drug.
This illegal drug, which has both stimulant and psychedelic properties, is often taken for the feelings of well-being, stimulation, and the distortions in time and sensory perceptions that it produces.
In high doses, MDMA can interfere with the body's ability to regulate temperature, sometimes leading to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), resulting in liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system failure, and death. There are reports of teenagers at Raves drinking large amounts of water to compensate for feeling hot. There was at least one death reported from a girl drinking too much water.
MDMA users also risk increases in heart rate and blood pressure, and symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating.
MDMA first became popular in the "rave" and all-night party scene, but its use has now expanded to a wide range of settings and demographic subgroups.
Animal studies show that MDMA can damage specific neurons in the brain. In humans, heavy MDMA users suffer cognitive deficits, including problems with memory.
The common misconception that ecstasy is a “designer drug” has also increased its popularity. In a culture that seeks out popular trends, the designer label of ecstasy is carried out in its production and marketing. Pills are individually marked with symbols which represent where they were made or what they contain. These are similar to trademarks and allow ecstasy to have “brands”.
No matter how nice an ecstasy pill might appear it can be deadly.
Individuals who abuse ecstasy need effective addiction treatment.
