Ecstasy: What to Know

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is an an empathogen, which means it increases an individual’s feeling of empathy and compassion towards others. However, because MDMA affects brain chemicals, some researchers think it could have lasting effects on areas, such as cognition and mood. Cases of fatal overdose from MDMA alone are rare considering its underground popularity, but polydrug use and the related deaths are not accounted for in data examining exclusive how many steps in alcoholics anonymous usage of MDMA. 4-Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) is a synthetic, psychoactive substance best known for producing a euphoric state with simultaneous stimulant and psychedelic effects. MDMA depletes serotonin levels, so users often experience a “hangover” lasting up to a few days, during which they may feel depressed or mentally exhausted. Most people report physical and emotional euphoria, along with mild visual effects, such as color enhancement.

Getting involved in the future of medical MDMA

MDMA is classed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance and is illegal in the United States. However, some researchers are studying ways that MDMA might be useful as a treatment for certain mental health conditions. Very alcoholic narcissistic mother recently, researchers have begun to explore whether or not MDMA-assisted psychotherapy could possibly be effective in the treatment of eating disorders and anxiety in adults coping with a life-threatening illness.

MDMA – Alcohol and Drug Foundation

Often, people who purchase MDMA and other drugs are unaware those drugs have been cut with fentanyl. MDMA is often called molly or ecstasy and is frequently taken in pill or capsule form. Mostly known as a ‘party drug,’ MDMA may also have use in therapy for PSTD, anxiety, eating disorders, and more. In the United Kingdom, MDMA was made illegal in 1977 by a modification order to the existing Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

1. MAPS aims to make MDMA a prescription treatment for PTSD by 2021.
2. MDMA is the scientific term, but recreational users often refer to MDMA as molly or ecstasy.
3. Many of these qualities have been identified as therapeutically significant too, with clinicians researching how to harness these properties to treat a range of mental health disorders.
4. Studies are conflicting on MDMA use and its affects on memory and cognition.
5. We also share signs of usage, how to identify the drug, and what research says about its potential as a therapeutic.

What if I use other drugs or alcohol together with MDMA?

Soon after, this hug friendly drug made its way out of labs and therapy sessions and onto the streets and dance floors. MDMA is a synthesized compound that begins with the precursor safrole—an oily liquid extracted from the sassafras tree’s bark or fruit, which is native to North America and Asia. Through a number of different chemical formulations, safrole can be synthesized into MDMA. The final product delivers a euphoric high that usually kicks in within 45 minutes and lasts 3-6 hours. Animal studies show that MDMA in moderate to high doses can damage nerve cells in the brain. The effects last for 3 to 6 hours, but people who take a moderate amount may experience withdrawal-type side effects for a week after.

There is a horribly toxic chemical with a four-letter acronym, MPTP, which does cause parkinsonism. It has appeared as an unwanted impurity in a heroin-like (opiate) drug called MPPP, causing the people who took the contaminated drug to ‘freeze up’ by destroying dopamine neurons in the brain, just as Parkinson’s disease does. Regulation could reduce the risk of fake MDMA.6 MDMA appears to be safer than most other illegal drugs, though all drugs can be harmful under specific circumstances.7 MDMA is safer if you follow harm reduction guidelines.

The substance then began illegally circulating for recreational use. See this page for more info on side effects relative to other drugs. Adolescents and young adults use it to reduce inhibitions and to promote feeling of euphoria (great happiness, excitement, pink cocaine tusi “high”), feelings of closeness, empathy, and sexuality. Ecstasy can also produce psychedelic effects, similar to the hallucinogens mescaline and LSD. For a few years, in an attempt to circumvent the law, different versions of ecstasy were synthesized.

MDMA also lifts the levels of other vital hormones in the brain, including oxytocin, which influences feelings of trust, empathy, and sexual desire. Collectively, these effects may account for the experience of increased trust and lowered defensiveness that many MDMA consumers report. Like most illegal drugs, the purity of MDMA changes all the time, so forms that might once have been more reliable cannot be guaranteed to remain so.

A 2021 double-blind, placebo-controlled study looked at the effects of therapy alongside either MDMA or a placebo in treating severe PTSD. It is an empathogen, which is a type of drug that alters neurotransmitters in the brain to affect how a person feels. Compared to LSD, MDMA also increases plasma concentrations of oxytocin, also known as the “love hormone,” as it promotes social bonding, trust, empathy, and sexual attraction. Thanks to oxytocin, many people describe feeling “loved up” while under the influence of MDMA. MDMA is a psychedelic compound that is structurally similar to amphetamine, a stimulant that accelerates activity in certain regions of the brain, and mescaline, a hallucinogen.

MDMA’s history began decades before the rave culture that popularized it. A common myth is that it was first synthesized and patented by the German pharmaceutical company Merck as an appetite suppressant. Merck did synthesize the drug in 1912, but the appetite suppressant story is an urban legend.

People don’t know how to take the drug safely and end up increasing their health risks. Many patients who undergo this therapy are war veterans with a treatment-resistant form of PTSD. They report that MDMA therapy helped them approach their past trauma with a greater sense of acceptance, warmth, and compassion for themselves, allowing them greater opportunity to cope and heal. A high dose can be a contributing factor in deadly conditions such as hyperthermia, exhaustion, or hyperhydration. Additionally, it can trigger serotonin syndrome, or too much serotonin, which can cause muscle rigidity, fever, seizures, and more. Although there are no medications to help with addiction to ecstasy, some people who have had issues with ecstasy have reported that behavioral therapy can help.

A 2022 survey showed that 0.6% of eighth graders (13 years old) said they used ecstasy in the last year. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified MDMA as a breakthrough therapy, which supportsfurther research and development of MDMA therapy. People may be able to revisit traumatic memories to work through them without becoming overwhelmed, overly anxious, or stressed. Healthcare professionals administer a regulated dose of MDMA in a controlled setting to treat specific psychiatric conditions that research suggests MDMA may benefit.

Users may encounter problems similar to those experienced by amphetamine and cocaine users, including addiction. Research has shown that animals will self-administer MDMA, an indicator of a drug’s abuse potential. Research results are controversial on whether MDMA can be addictive.