One, two, buckle your shoe, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)... this is the chemical structure of the main component in the street drug, Ecstasy. Of all the drugs scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act, ecstasy is the only one in schedule I which has been used by licensed doctors therapeutically prior to its scheduling. As with all drugs prohibited by the Controlled Substances Act, there is a lot of misinformation, often created and spread by the government itself, that prevents the average person from truly understanding the risks and benefits of these drugs. We are going to do our best today to unravel the misinformation and learn about this unique drug. MDMA was first synthesized and patented by the German drug company Merck in 1913 for use as a diet pill, but was never marketed, and eventually got shelved. MDMA was mostly unknown until it was synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in the 1970’s. Shulgin’s story is remarkable on its own, but he is the first recorded human to use MDMA, and recognized great therapeutic value in the compound. He introduced MDMA to Leo Zeff, a retiring psychologist that had used psychedelic drugs in his practice. After Zeff had taken MDMA, he decided not to retire, but to begin to use MDMA in his own practice. After a few months, Zeff was pontificating MDMA’s use, and earned the moniker the Johnny Appleseed of MDMA.. He dubbed the drug “Adam” believing that it stripped a lifetime of emotional baggage from its user, and allowed them to see themselves, as Adam, without sin. It is this powerful effect of allowing analysis of one’s actions without a feeling of guilt that caused another psychiatrist to dub MDMA “penicillin of the soul.” Due to the patent held by Merck, no othe... ... middle of paper ... ... Jerome Beck (8 March 1994). Pursuit of Ecstasy: The MDMA Experience. SUNY Press. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-0-7914-1818-5. "Dopamine-Independent Locomotor Actions of Amphetamines in a Novel Acute Mouse Model of Parkinson Disease." PLOS Biology:. N.p., 14 Feb. 2001. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. . "Ecstasy 'Relieves Parkinson's Disease'." BBC News. BBC, 14 Feb. 2001. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. . Halem, Danna. "Alexander Shulgin on MDMA." Alexander Shulgin on MDMA. N.p., 1 Mar. 2002. Web. 1 May 2014. . Shulgin, Alexander, and Ann Shulgin. "Erowid Online Books : "PIHKAL" - #109 MDMA."Erowid Online Books : "PIHKAL" - #109 MDMA. Erowid.org, 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 1 May 2014. .
Erika Dyck provides the reader and interesting view of early historical psychological research on LSD, lysergic acid diethyl-amide. This book is composed of Dyck’s scientific interpretation and dissection of earlier psychedelic psychiatry research by Humphry Osmond, and Abraham Hoffer. A Swiss biochemist named Albert Hofmann dissolved a minimal amount of d-lysergic acid diethyl-amide in a glass of water and digested this new synthetic drug in April 1943. Three hours later he begins to feel dizzy and his vision was distorted. Hofmann recollects this as a surreal journey as if what he saw was created by the famous paintings of Salvador Dali unexplained carnivalesque or at some moments even nightmarish hallucinations. The drug began gaining support from pharmaceutical companies as something that can possibly be beneficial for future scientific study. Saskatchewan soon became one of the epicenters harvesting break through biochemical innovation and experimentation with LSD from the 1950s to 1960s.
Boyer, B., Boyer, R., & Basehart, H. 1973. Hallucinogens and Shamanism M. Hamer, Ed.. England: Oxford University Press.
Unfortunately, no treatment has been able to fully cure the disease. Treatment began primitively, consisting of things such as “bloodletting from the neck” which was followed by induced inflammation and blistering to the skin. Today, the most common and effective way of treating Parkinson’s temporarily is through attempting to balance dopamine and acetylcholine levels within the brain by prescribing patients with what is known on the market commonly as Levodopa. It is essentially a dopamine supplement of which’s dosage must be individualized for each different patient since the symptoms vary from person to person (Goldmann, 44). This treatment will eventually become less and less effective as the progression of the disease continues. All that patients and neurologists seem to be able to do is attempt to manage the symptoms it
Boeri, M. W., C. E. Sterk, and K. W. Elifson. "Rolling beyond Raves: Ecstasy use outside the Rave Setting." Journal of Drug Issues 34.4 (2004): 831-860. Sage Journal. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
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...
The path physiology of Parkinson’s disease is the pathogenesis if Parkinson disease is unknown. Epidemiologic data suggest genetic, viral, and environmental toxins as possible causes. Nigral and basal loss of neurons with depletion of dopamine, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, is the principal biochemical alteration in Parkinson disease. Symptoms in basal ganglia disorders result from an imbalance of dopaminergic (inhibitory) and cholinergic (excitatory) activity in the caudate and putamen of the basal ganglia.
(3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) has a chemical structure similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline and can produce both stimulant and psychedelic effects. Reportedly, MDMA's psychedelic effects are milder than those produced by hallucinogens such as LSD and mescaline. MDMA has been available as a street drug since the 1980s. Its use has escalated in the 1990s among college students and young adults, particularly those who participate in all-night dance parties called "raves." MDMA's street names include "ecstasy," "XTC," "clarity," "essence," and "Adam."
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...
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.
Wesson, Donald R. "Psychedelic Drugs, Hippie Counterculture, Speed And Phenobarbital Treatment Of Sedative-Hypnotic Dependence: A Journey To The Haight Ashbury In The Sixties." Journal Of Psychoactive Drugs 2 (2011): 153. Academic OneFile. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
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.
In the history of mankind, the hallucinogens have probably been the most important of the narcotics. Their fantastic effects made the...
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.