MDMA chemical structureEcstasy commonly appears in a tablet form, usually imprinted with a monogram.The title screen to Peter Jennings - Ecstasy Rising
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Ecstasy (drug)

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), most commonly known today by the street name ecstasy, is a synthetic entactogen of the phenethylamine family whose primary effect is to stimulate the secretion of and inhibit the re-uptake of large amounts of serotonin as well as dopamine and noradrenaline in the brain, causing a general sense of openness, empathy, energy, euphoria, and well-being. more...

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Ecstasy (drug)
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Tactile sensations are enhanced for some users, making general physical contact with others more pleasurable; but, contrary to popular mythology it generally does not have aphrodisiac effects. Its ability to facilitate self-examination with reduced fear has proven useful in some therapeutic settings, leading to its 2001 approval by the United States FDA for testing in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Acute dehydration is a risk among users who are highly physically active and forget to drink water, as the drug may mask one's normal sense of exhaustion and thirst. Also the opposite, "water intoxication" resulting in acute hyponatremia has been reported. By far the biggest danger comes from the fact that other, more dangerous chemicals (such as PMA, or methamphetamine) are either added to ecstasy tablets, or more often simply sold as ecstasy. Long-term effects in humans are largely unknown and the subject of much controversy —particularly with regard to the risks of severe long-term depression as a result of a reduction in the natural production of serotonin.

MDMA is also known by many other street names, including Adam, Beans, Biscuits, Candy, E, Eccies, Googs, Jack and Jills, MaDMAn, Mollies, Pills, Rolls, Scoobies, Smarties, Tabs, Thizz, Vitamin E, Vitamin X, X, XTC, Yaotou (in East Asia), and Yokes.

History

A patent for MDMA was originally filed on Christmas eve 1912 by the German pharmaceutical company Merck, and granted two years later (to the day). At the time, MDMA was not known to be a drug in its own right; rather, it was patented as an intermediate chemical used in the synthesis of a styptic (a drug intended to control bleeding from wounds.) Over half a century would pass before the first known ingestion of MDMA by humans.

Contrary to many rumours, the drug was never used as an appetite suppressant or as a stimulant for armed forces during wartime. (This was in fact methamphetamine.) The U.S. Army did, however, do lethal dose studies of it and several other compounds in the mid-1950's. It was given the name EA-1475, with the EA standing for Edgewood Arsenal. The results of these studies were not declassified until 1969. MDMA was first brought to public attention through Dr. Alexander Shulgin in the 1960s who recommended it for use in certain therapy sessions, naming the drug 'window' (he discovered it while searching for compounds that might have a similar psychoactive effect as other compounds contained in nutmeg). It was widely used therapeutically by US psychotherapists because of its empathogenic effects until its criminalization in the late 1980s. The drug was hailed as a miracle by therapists and counselors who claimed couples could have six months worth of progress in one use of the drug, and soldiers returning from the Vietnam war could overcome their PTSD sometimes more effectively than talk or group therapy. A small number of therapists continue to use it in their practices today. (See below for 2001 FDA approval and DEA licensing for use in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.)

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Don't Let Ecstasy Be Your Agony - warnings against the use of the drug ecstasy - Brief Article
From All Hands, 6/1/01 by Joseph Gunder

In the Navy, a lack of situational awareness can be deadly. Some over-the-counter medicines (cough medicines, painkillers) can decrease the edge military personnel need to tread the line between life and death. A drowsy hull technician working on a metal press could have a finger or two crushed. A boatswain's mate on a ship's forecastle might not be paying attention to the color of the anchor chain paying out of the locker, or turn the friction brake in the wrong direction, with disastrous results.

You get the idea. If an over-the-counter medication could perhaps lead to these kinds of situations, imagine what a mind-altering drug like ecstasy could lead to. It has no accepted medicinal use for treatment in the United States. And it's illegal.

Ecstasy is a synthetic amphetamine drug, related chemically to methamphetamine compounds. It's also known by the street names "E' "X' and "XTC." It is often referred to as a "club drug" because it has been sold in nightclubs and rave parties. It's misperceived as a "safe drug" without the side effects of other rave drugs such as LSD, methamphetamines, heroin or PCP.

Ecstasy comes in pill form, about the size of an aspirin, or may occur as a capsule or sold as a powder.

Immediate effects include a sense of euphoria, energy and altered sensory perception.

Then there are the side effects.

Current medical literature lists depression and panic disorders as some of the long-term effects. Acute short-term effects include water loss from sweating, high body temperature and loss of motor skills and judgment.

But drinking large amounts of water isn't a solution to the water loss problem caused by ecstasy abuse. A large intake of water to replace water loss from sweating and a higher body temperature can lead to a salt imbalance, and a trip to the emergency room.

This is a huge risk to one's health and safety for a drug "high." Why risk your health and safety, as well as the safety of others around you, to a drug that the Food and Drug Administration said has no medical treatment value, especially one that was produced in someone's basement?

No one in the Navy would trust their lives to somebody who wasn't at 100 percent efficiency because of some party drug. Everyone's job is too important to be compromised by drug abuse. When it comes to safety, staying away from ecstasy is a no-brainer.

DOD has been testing for "designer amphetamines since 1997, and every sample that passes through the military testing laboratories gets screened for these types of drugs. More than 400 Navy and Marine Corps personnel were identified for ecstasy abuse in FY00.

The Navy and Marine Corps team has a "zero tolerance policy for illegal drug use, and that includes ecstasy. Don't let it turn into your agony. If you're doing it, stop. If someone else is doing it, report the individual. Don't risk detection, punishment, or discharge under dishonorable or other than honorable conditions.

But don't just avoid it for 3 those reasons, think of yourself and your shipmates. Its a matter of safety ... their lives could be in your hands.

COPYRIGHT 2001 U.S. Navy
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

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