ECSTASY AND CLUB DRUGS

Ecstasy tablets. Source: DEA

QUICK FACTS RESOURCES

Print resources Online resources Video resources

QUICK FACTS – ECSTASY

Commercial and Street Names

MDMA, Ecstasy, Adam, E, roll, X, XTC, hug drug, CK, M&Ms.

The White House has additional street terms for ecstasy.

Description of Ecstasy

A synthetic drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties. MDMA comes in a tablet form that is often branded, e.g. Playboy bunnies, Nike swoosh, CK. Considered a “club drug.” Users sometimes take MDMA at “raves,” clubs and other parties.

Effects of Ecstasy

Users report intensely pleasurable effects –including an enhanced sense of self-confidence, energy, and sociability. Other effects can include involuntary
teeth clenching, a loss of inhibitions, transfixion on sights and sounds, nausea, blurred vision, chills and/or sweating. Increases in heart rate and blood pressure, as well as seizures, are also possible. Death from kidney or heart failure due to dehydration or hyperthermia has occurred at raves. After-effects can include sleep problems, anxiety and depression. Long-term effects of repeated use may damage the cells that produce serotonin, which regulate mood, appetite, pain, learning and memory. May disrupt or interfere with memory.

For information on other hallucinogens see the Hallucinogens section.

Sources: DEA; NIDA InfoFacts, MDMA, April 2006

RESOURCES

I. PRINTED RESOURCES

Ecstasy and Raves (2008) Hunt & Evens

The Love Drug: Marching to the Beat of Ecstasy (1998) Richard S. Cohen

Love Drugs (2005) Otto Snow

On ‘E’ Ecstasy (2000) Push and Mireille Silcott

Ecstasy: The MDMA Story (1993) Eisner

The Book of E: All About Ecstasy (2000) Push and Mireille Silcott

The Little Box of Drugs: Heroin, Ecstasy, Cocaine, Cannabis (2004) Nick Brownlee, Nick Constable, Gareth Thomas, and Robert Ashton

This Is Ecstasy (Addiction) (2004) Gareth Thomas

Amphetamines and Ecstasy (Health Issues) (2005) Susan Elliot-Wright

The Agony of Ecstasy (2006) Olivia Gordon

The Love Drug: Marching to the Beat of Ecstasy (Haworth Therapy for the Addictive Disorders) (1998) Richard S. Cohen

Club Drugs (Compact Research Series) (2007) Jill Karsen

II. ONLINE RESOURCES FOR ECSTASY

Websites Specific to Ecstasy

ecstasy.org

General Information on Ecstasy

The ABCs - Ecstasy (MDMA) (July 2007) Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC).

The Basics: Ecstasy (February 2005) provides basic information on MDMA (ecstasy). Addiction Foundation of Manitoba (AFM).

Addiction Prevention and Ecstasy

The Many Faces of MDMA Use Challenge Drug Abuse Prevention is a December 2001 article published by NIDA.

For more information on addiction prevention see the Addiction Prevention Resources section.

Impaired Driving and Ecstasy

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine - Drugs and Human Performance Fact Sheets (April 2004) is a detailed fact sheet on effects of ecstasy use, particularly on performance and driving. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Lab Testing and Ecstasy

Ecstasy is known for having a wide variety of adulterants and often resembles other drugs such as MDA, MDEA, and MBDB.

EcstasyData.org provides access to lab testing results for street ecstasy tablets. Complete with photographs.

PillReports is a global database of “Ecstasy” pills based on both subjective user reports and scientific analysis. By identifying dangerous adulterants, PillReports hopes to prevent many of the problems associated with ecstasy use before they happen.

Neuroscience and Ecstasy

This is Your Brain on Ecstasy is a MDMA neurochemistry slideshow. Dancesafe.org.

Parenting and Ecstasy

Ecstasy - Tips for Parents provides basic information on ecstasy as well as what to do if you suspect your child is using ecstasy. Addiction Foundation of Manitoba (AFM).

Research and Ecstasy

Characteristics and Social Representation of Ecstasy in Europe (1998) corroborates previous studies on ecstasy about the expectations among ecstasy users, as well as the under-evaluation of its dangers and, at the same time, the overvaluation of its efficacy among non-consumers. Amador Calafat.

Ecstasy: MDMA and other ring-substituted amphetamines (2001) focuses on MDMA and other ring-substituted amphetamines such as methylne-dioxy-amphetamine (MDA) or methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA) and para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA) which are often sold as ecstasy. Linda R. Gowing, Susan M. Henry-Hedwards, Rodney J. Irvine, Robert L. Ali. World Health Organization (WHO).

NIDA Research Report: Ecstasy (March 2006) highlights the latest research and a brief history of ecstasy, the scope of ecstasy abuse in the US, the effects of ecstasy, what it does to the brain, the addictive properties of ecstasy, and more. National Institute f Drug Abuse (NIDA). NIH Publication 06-4728.

For additional research on ecstasy refer to the Ecstasy, Other Club Drugs, & Other Hallucinogens section provided by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).