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MDMA (Ecstasy)
Street terms for MDMA/Ecstasy: XTC, go, X, Adam, hug drug1
What does Ecstasy look like?
How is Ecstasy used?
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Ecstasy is usually ingested in tablet form, but can also be
crushed and snorted, injected, or used in suppository form.
Who uses Ecstasy?
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In 2000, more than 6.4 million people age 12 and older reported
that they have used Ecstasy at least once in their lives.2
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Ecstasy is popular among middle-class adolescents and young
adults.
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Ecstasy is sold primarily at legitimate nightclubs and bars, at
underground nightclubs sometimes called "acid houses," or at
all-night parties known as "raves."
How does Ecstasy get to the United States?
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The vast majority of Ecstasy consumed domestically is produced
in Europe.
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A limited number of Ecstasy laboratories operate in the United
States.
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Law enforcement seized 17 clandestine Ecstasy laboratories in
the United States in 2001 compared to 7 seized in 2000.3
How much does Ecstasy cost?
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It costs as little as 25 to 50 cents to manufacture an Ecstasy
tablet in Europe, but the street value of that same Ecstasy
tablet can be as high as $40, with a tablet typically selling
for between $20 and $30.4
What are some of the consequences of using Ecstasy?
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In addition to chemical stimulation, the drug reportedly
suppresses the need to eat, drink, or sleep.5
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When taken at raves, where all-night dancing usually occurs, the
drug often leads to severe dehydration and heat stroke in the
user since it has the effect of "short-circuiting" the body's
temperature signals to the brain.6
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An Ecstasy overdose is characterized by a rapid heartbeat, high
blood pressure, faintness, muscle cramping, panic attacks, and,
in more severe cases, loss of consciousness or seizures. One of
the side effects of the drug is jaw muscle tension and teeth
grinding. As a consequence, Ecstasy users will often suck on
pacifiers to help relieve the tension.7
-
Ecstasy may cause hyperthermia, muscle breakdown, seizures,
stroke, kidney and cardiovascular system failure, possible
permanent damage to sections of brain critical to thought and
memory, and death.8
1Office of National Drug Control Policy, Street Terms:
Drugs and the Drug Trade.
2Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Summary of Findings from the 2000 National
Household Survey on Drug Abuse, September 2001.
3Drug Enforcement Administration,
Drug Trafficking in the United States, September 2001.
4Ibid.
5Drug Enforcement Administration,
Club Drugs: An Update, September 2001.
6Ibid.
7Ibid.
8National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: MDMA
(Ecstasy).
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