The Truth About Ecstasy

What is Ecstasy? The definition in the dictionary is excessive joy; poetic frenzy; any exalted feeling. If you were to ask any given teenager the same question today, that would not be the answer you receive. The first thing they think of is Ecstasy the drug. Many probably don't even realize it's an actual word in the dictionary.

Ecstasy is one of the many street names for 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDMA), a synthetic drug that is structurally similar to methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. The drug was discovered in Germany in 1913, and was synthesized, developed, and patented by a pharmaceutical company in 1914. It was intended as a weight-loss (anorectic) drug, but because of its side-effects Ecstasy was never marketed.

It was abandoned for 60 years until the 1970's and early 1980's when psychiatrists and psychotherapists in the United States used it to faciliate psychotherapy, claiming that it enhanced communication in patient sessions. Some clinicians claim that the drug is potentially valuable as a psychotherapeutic agent, however federal regulators classify Ecstasy, as a drug with no accepted medical use.

On July 1, 1985, Ecstasy was officially banned. Illicit labs were closed and dealers were arrested. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) placed Ecstasy in the most restricted category, along with heroin and LSD. Although it is now illegal, Ecstasy has emerged as a so-called "party" or "club" drug at raves or all night parties.
Other street names for Ecstasy include E, X, XTC, Adam, M-methyl, Cadillac, White Buddha, Nike Swoosh, Superman, Mitsubishi, White Star, Mercedes, Hug drug, Love drug and Disco Biscuits.

Ecstasy is sold as a pill or a powder in capsules to be taken orally. Sometimes the powder is remove and snorted or smoked. It is rarely injected.