MDMA was first created in 1910by German scientists studying amphetamines., Merck, a German pharmaceutical company, took out a patent on the chemical in 1914 because they believed that MDMA could be useful for suppressing appetites. When MDMA proved useless for their purposes, it was forgotten and did not resurface until the 1950s during the Cold War. Scientists in the U.S. Army of Office of Strategic Services were looking for drugs to induce psychotic and violent behavior but MDMA did not produce these results and drifted into misuse. A few years later in the 1960s, Dr. Alexander T. Shulgin heard about MDMA from a student and created his own batch. After experimenting on himself and friends, he came to the conclusion that MDMA could have value as a drug for mental disorders to help people be more open about troubling events. Based off of Shulgin’s conclusion, psychotherapists in the medical community of California in the 1970s became excited about MDMA as a drug to help heighten feelings of closeness and connection with patients, enhancing therapy as a “penicillin for the soul.” As research on MDMA progressed, animal testing indicated that MDMA destroyed brain cells and doctors backed away, but it had already become popular among people as a recreational drug.
Among college students, MDMA is generally used at clubs and raves, which originated in 1987 on the Spanish island of Ibiza when British vacationers staged all-night dance parties. Raves then spread back to the U.K. and U.S. and MDMA became the most commonly used drugs at raves. MDMA is popular at raves because it fits the rave scene well; giving people the energy to stay awake and dance all night. It also allows shy and cautious people to be confident, open, and friendly ...
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...after using MDMA. If MDMA use is regular, the neuron’s ability to release serotonin will be destroyed, which could be a permanent effect.
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Lopez, Marsha F., Ph.D. "Ecstasy (MDMA)." Drugs and Controlled Substances: Information for Students. Ed. Stacey L. Blachford and Kristine Krapp. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 156-164. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Mar. 2011.
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Although in the modern world such drugs have developed an almost taboo status, it is impossible to ignore the tales of enlightenment reported by ancient cultures and even those rebels that use such drugs illegally today. While the American government has been one of the main influences on today’s society’s negative attitudes towards psychedelic drugs, they have granted some scientist and psychologists permission to experiment with such agents, and despite the controversy and varying results there seem to be many positive uses of psychedelic agents. These positive uses and the research that has been directed toward these uses will be reviewed in the following, as well as a brief history of psychedelic drugs.
National Drug Intelligence Center. "LSD Fast Facts." Welcome to the United States Department of Justice. May 2003. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. .
The History of Ecstasy is not as notorious as people make it out to be. According to About.com Mary Bellis she stated,” ecstasy is the common name given to the drug methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA). The history occurred through an simple accident by Mannish and Jacobsohn, two German Scientists working for Merk in 1912 as an intermediate to a vasoconstrictor known as hydrastinin. It was believed to be used as a weight loss drug and a medication that controlled bleeding, but was not heavily marketed, and the paten does not give description of purpose. Further on in 1927 Merck continue to perform experiments on MDMA and perform some animal experiments, noting that the substance had some similarities in structure and effects to adrenaline. US Military use ecstasy in the 1950-1960. The reason for use was under classification but researchers believed it was for non-lethal weapons or just plan interrogation tools.
Credibility material: Its intake results in adverse medical conditions that are further exalted by its addiction properties that ensure a continued intake of the substance. The drug can be abused through multiple means and is medically recorded to produce short-term joy, energy , and other effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. This ultimately results in numerous psychiatric and social problems; factors that played a major role in its illegalization after multiple and widespread cases of its effects were reported in the country during the 1900s. In addition to this, the drug results in immediate euphoric effect, a property which the National Institute of Drug Abuse (2010) attributes to be the root cause for its increased po...
Adams, Jill U. "A CLOSER LOOK; how Ecstasy Harms; the Drug, Popular at Raves, can make Users Feel
MDMA stimulates the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin from brain neurons, producing a high that lasts from several minutes to an hour. The drug's rewarding effects vary with the individual taking it, the dose and purity, and the environment in which it is taken. MDMA can produce stimulant effects such as an enhanced sense of pleasure and self-confidence and increased energy. Its psychedelic effects include feelings of peacefulness, acceptance, and empathy. Users claim they experience feelings of closeness with others and a desire to touch them. Because MDMA engenders feelings of closeness and trust and has a short duration of action, some clinicians claim that the drug is potentially valuable as a psychotherapeutic agent.
The story starts with the initial, utopic discovery of Ecstasy and its boundary-lowering qualities, and ends, with varying degrees of speed, with the descent into polydrug abuse and depression.
Dutch studies grouped participants into three categories of users: moderate, heavy, and ex-users. Moderate use is classified as less than 50 tablets; heavy is more than 50 tablets; and ex-users were reportedly off ecstasy for at least one-year before the study. Users had to abstain from all drug use for 3 weeks before the study was conducted. The three groups were also categorized by gender and age. The study revealed that MAMA use might result in lowered levels in the density of serotonin transporters in the brain. It also suggests that the degree of those levels was partially dependent on sex. Moderate users of both male and female participants did not seem to lead to a large reduction in the production of serotonin.
Freismuth, M., Montgomery, T., Sitte, H., Steinkellner, T (2011). The ugly side of amphetamines: short- and long-term toxicity of 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'Ecstasy'), methamphetamine and d-amphetamine. Biology Chemistry, 392, 103-115. Doi:10.1515/BC.2011.016
The drug Ecstasy is dangerous for not only our people, but also a menace to society. With my own experiences in college and people I am closely bonded to, or used to be, I have seen this highly used club drug invade our campuses of America by leaps and bounds. I can tell you more than one story about young college friends that had 4.0 GPAs and promising careers ahead and now have nothing because of this drug. I remember a doctor telling me that 12 years ago this drug was not even known of and now it seems every other day we are reading in the paper of overdoses or reports on the cerebral damage it does.
In a world where mental illnesses like PTSD, depression, and autism are becoming more and more prevalent, MDMA, or “Ecstasy” is just the mental boost that someone needs and is illegally being dealt to patients while in therapy or counseling. The theory is that MDMA can raise “happiness levels” by forcing the brain to release serotonin and dopamine at the same time, resulting in intense euphoria and “ego softening” (Errowid). Some other side effects of MDMA can include feelings of inner peace, increase in social bonding, and an increase in ability to communicate. Some of the less positive side effects can be eye wiggling, increased heart rate, and dehydration. All of which, are quite manageable and not too noticeable. Sufferers of social anxiety and depression could greatly benefit from MDMA, as it can break down inner boundaries and increase the need to be around other people. A grou...
Methamphetamine addiction can have very bad effects on a person’s brain and mental well-being. Meth triggers the brain to release certain hormones such...
A girl named Sarah who was interviewed by channel 6 “true life on ecstasy “ had done ecstasy for 3 years. However, the mistake in her part was that she had done it almost EVERY day. When she had gotten her brain scanned, she had a brain of a 75-year-old woman who had multiple strokes. Sarah at the time was only 25, but take into consideration that she more than “abused ” the drug.
In brief, while ecstasy at one point may have been a facilitator in the field of psychology between therapists and patients, it soon became a facilitator in society between recreational users and death. Ever since ecstasy was introduced to the curious public back in the 1960's, it has become a popular preference among drug addicts. Till this day, teenagers all over the world are being pressured into experimenting with MDMA leading them to a life controlled and regulated by not only ecstasy but other various drugs as well. It is actually quite interesting to see what lengths society will go to in order to attain and maintain a sense of happiness and ecstasy.