Ecstasy, the Brain, and the Media
Ecstasy has been glorified by countless Brit-pop drug anthems, condemned by staunch anti-drug foundations and even caused a controversial media debate when the post-mortem picture of eighteen year old Lorna Spinks was splashed across every newspaper in the United Kingdom, her Ecstasy-related death rendered in full gruesome color. The long-term effects and temporary consequences of Ecstasy have been a subject of heated debate in the past ten years as the pill has seen a surge in popularity. What exactly does Ecstasy do to the brain? What creates the euphoric effects? Why has it been used in therapy? And does the media's portrayal of Ecstasy rely on the facts of the drug, or skew the information to instill a sense of fear into citizens, parents, and teenagers?
Ecstasy (Methlenedioxy-methamphetamine, MDMA for short) is a synthetic, psychoactive drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties. It shares a chemical structure with methamphetamine, mescaline, and methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), drugs known to cause brain damage (1). MDMA, in a simple explanation, works by interfering with the communication system between neurotransmitters. Serotonin is one of a group of neurotransmitters that carries out communication between the body and the brain. The message molecules travel from neuron to neuron, attaching to receptor sites. This communication activates signs that either allow the message to be passed or prevent the message from being sent to other cells. However, when MDMA enters the nervous system, it interferes with this system. After serotonin is released, the neurotransmitters are retrieved into the nerve terminal where they are recycled. MDMA hinders this process so that the serotonin is not drawn back in. This allows for an accumulation of serotonin, and also an increase in serotonin synapses (2). This surge of serotonin creates an emotional openness in the Ecstasy user. A sense of euphoria and ecstatic delight envelop the user. Some users report thinking clearly and objectively, and often claim to come to terms with personal problems or various other skeletons in the closet (3).
This is the reason Ecstasy resurfaced in the 1980s (after being developed in Germany in 1912 as a dieting drug due to the fact that amphetamines are appetite suppressors) as a tool in experimental psychotherapy, particularly regarding relationship and marital problems (4). In 1984 the drug was declared illegal in the United States after it started being used for recreational purposes. However, in June of 1999, Swiss courts ruled that dealing Ecstasy is not a serious offence.
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...
In 1803 the United States would make the largest and possibly most controversial land purchases in American history, the Louisiana Purchase. During the years leading up to this event the United States was still trying to solidify a national identity. There were two subjects that were causing for division of the new national identity, one being westward expansion. The Northern states and Federalists opposed the idea of westward expansion while the Southern States and the Jeffersonians backed this purchase. Although there was a struggle for a single national identity and this controversial purchase did not aid in finding that single identity, it was still the right decision for the United States. By purchasing this land from the French the United States would not share a colonial boundary with the French who were continuing to gain power under Napoleon. Purchasing the Louisiana Territory would prove to be beneficial for the United States for more reason than one.
The Israeli-Palestine conflict is an event that has been well documented throughout the course of Middle-Eastern history. The conflict dates back as far as the nineteenth century where Palestine and Zionist, will later be known as Israel, are two communities each with different ideologies had the same overwhelming desire to acquire land. However, what makes this clash what it is, is the fact that both of these up and coming communities are after the same piece of land. The lengths that both sides went to in order obtain they believed was theirs has shaped the current relationship between the two nations today.
Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 B.C. in China. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the active substances in drugs were extracted. There was a time in history when some of these newly discovered substances, such as morphine, laudanum, cocaine, were completely unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments.
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 created in 1919 in Japan. It went into wide use for both sides during World War II and it was especially used by Japanese pilots before their flights. Once the war was over, leftover storage of Methamphetamine went public resulting in extremely high amounts of abuse with this drug. During the 1950’s this drug was used as a diet aid and was also used in the thought that it helped to fight depression. It was also over used by college students, truck drivers, and athletes because of its easy availability. This pattern increased remarkably in the 1960’s when this drug became more available in an injectable form. The United States Government in the 1970’s made Meth, for most uses, illegal which then resulted in Mexican drug trafficking organizations to set up large labs in California. Today most of this drug that is available comes from Thailand, Myanmar, and China. (History of Methamphetam...
When people hear the words drug addict, these words have negative connotations and stigmas attached to them. People visualize a person who does not care about anything, including family, work, or commitments, except for obtaining money to buy drugs to get high. However, there are many people who are drug addicts that maintain a normal, functioning life. Before we can examine why these people are addicted to drugs, one must first define the word addict.
The ongoing and explosive Israeli-Palestinian conflict has its roots in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when two major nationalist movements among the Jews and Arabs were born. Both of these groups’ movements were geared toward attaining sovereignty for their people in the Middle East, where they each had historical and religious ties to the land that lies between the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Toward the end of the 19th century, Southern Syria (Palestine) was divided into two regions, inhabited primarily by Arab Muslims, and ruled by the Turkish Ottoman Empire (BBC News). At this time, most of the Jews worldwide lived predominantly in eastern and central Europe. When the Zionist political movement was established in 1887 and began to fund land purchases in the Ottoman Empire controlled region of Palestine, tensions between the two groups arose. Since then, Israel and Palestine have been vying for control of this land that they both covet, and this conflict remains as one of the world’s major sources of instability today, involving many different players. One of these players who continues to halt the peace process, is a militant fundamentalist Islamic organization called Hamas. Hamas has intensified extreme opposition and bloodshed in the region, with the aim of destroying the state of Israel. However, few people know that starting in the mid 1970s, Israel secretly supported an organization that would later emerge as Hamas, even though both groups had competing future visions for the nation. Why did it choose to do this when it had so much at stake? This paper will address the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict leading up to the beginning of Israeli support of Hama...
The most commonly abused substances are Nicotine, Inhalants, Alcohol, Cocaine, Amphetamines, Prescription medications, Heroin, Ecstasy and Marijuana. 1a(National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2011) Initially, a person may find themselves using substances voluntarily and with confidence that they will be able to dictate their personal use. However, over the period of time that drug use is repeated, changes are taking place throughout the brain, whether it is functionally or structurally. Drugs contain chemicals that enter the communication system of the brain and disturb the way in which nerve cells would typically send, receive, and process information. The chemicals within these drugs will cause a disruption to the communication system by either imitating the brain’s natural chemical messengers or by over-stimulating the brains “reward system” by sending mass amounts of dopamine. As an individual prolongs his or her use of these substances, they may develop an addiction.
Drugs are used to escape the real and move into the surreal world of one’s own imaginations, where the pain is gone and one believes one can be happy. People look on their life, their world, their own reality, and feel sickened by the uncaringly blunt vision. Those too weak to stand up to this hard life seek their escape. They believe this escape may be found in chemicals that can alter the mind, placing a delusional peace in the place of their own depression: “Euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly halucinant,” (52). They do this with alcohol, acid, crack, cocaine, heroine, opium, even marijuana for the commoner economy. These people would rather hide behind the haze than deal with real problems. “...A gramme is better than a damn.” (55).
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict derived from the Zionist population. The Zionist wanted to colonize a piece of land that could be considered the Jewish homeland. As they immigrated to different parts of Europe, they eventually landed in Palestine. In the beginning, the Zionist's immigration was not a problem to the people that were already living in Palestine. But the problems presented themselves because the Zionists decided to take over Palestine, and turn it into a Jewish state. As the years went on and the wars continued, majority of Palestine was conquered by Israel. And as a result of the wars, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has remained prevalent throughout history.
...ation that you believe is right. 10 different people can read the same passage and all get something different out of it, and all of them could very well be right. Although, I’m not saying that within the bible there isn’t things that are stated that you should and shouldn’t do. I’m just trying to say that you should focus more on making sure your life fits what you believe God wants from you. That you should influence people by the way you live and make them want to be a better person, but it has to be their own choice. Because, to be honest, if you are living the way you should then other people are going to want to live that way too. If you are doing it right, that is. I’m tired of seeing so many so-called-christians protesting and showing so much hate and negativity towards everyone who see’s things different than them. That’s not what God is about. God is love.
The altered states of consciousness produced by drugs presents an all-to-common phenomenon in today’s society. Whether the desired sensation comes in the form of energy, a means of relaxation, or pain reduction, many people go to great lengths and present their bodies to threatening conditions in order to achieve this euphoric “high.” Unfortunately, the use of these drugs very often comes with dangerous side effects that users must learn to manage with for the rest of their life. According to neuroscientists, our entire conscious existence bases itself off of the lighting-fast reactions occurring in our nervous system (Nichols, 2012). Therefore, changing these neurological reactions can permanently effect our conscious being (Blatter, 2012). The physical and neurological effects from the use and abuse of stimulants, sedatives, hallucinogens, organic solvents, and athletic performance enhancing drugs will be discussed in order to better comprehend why certain individuals expose themselves to such dangerous materials with seemingly no regard to the permanent consequences associated with such actions.
Ecstasy Effects | Information on Ecstasy,Club. Drugs,Pills and MDMA. Web. The Web. The Web.
The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.