9781422270530

HEROIN

WHAT IS ECSTASY? Different Names, Same Dangers

Ecstasy is one of the names for the party drug MDMA, which is also commonly called “Molly.” It is a synthetic drug made in a laboratory, although some labs that make ecstasy are used in the trunk of a car. The formal chemical name for ecstasy is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). This name provides a clue to its chemical background. It is derived from amphetamine and chemically similar to methamphetamine. Ecstasy is both a stimulant and a hallucinogen. It can distort the perception of time and other sensory experiences. People who use ecstasy say that it can increase empathy and self-awareness. Ecstasy was first developed in a German pharmaceutical lab in 1912 in the hope that it could be used to help control bleeding. By the 1970s, MDMA began appearing in street drug tests in the United States. Also in the 1970s, a few psychiatrists recommended using MDMA to improve communication during counseling sessions. The drug stayed “underground” in most communities until the 1980s, when it began to be sold and

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