Major UK study examines the long-term effects of Ecstasy use

02:04 February 13, 2009 PST

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Ecstasy use is widespread in the dance music scene worldwide.

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Users maintain a sense of connection with reality, and the substance does not usually cause "bad trips"

MDMA rarely causes paranoid feelings or aggression. It improves arousal, energy, attention and concentration, where alcohol can impair them

Although it usually reduces anxiety, some users experience panic attacks

MDMA can actually improve some aspects of driving performance, while inhibiting others

Short Term Issues

Users can 'come down' from an MDMA high with much lower serotonin levels than usual. In regular weekend users this depression, which can occur days after the initial exposure, is sometimes referred to as "suicide Tuesday"
High doses are undoubtedly harmful and may lead to hospitalization or death - either by direct toxicity, extreme hyperthermia, dehydration or water intoxication linked with dance parties, or other reasons. However, given its widespread use, fatalities are relatively low compared with other class A drugs

Long Term Issues

Some animal studies have shown that high doses of MDMA in non-human primates can cause long-term damage to the serotonin nerves in the brain. The average user takes a smaller and safer dose, but it is possible that the human brain is more susceptible to damage

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User Comments (2)

Good to hear a fair and balanced informational news report. I have tried ecstacy, but I normally abstain from drug use. It's good to know that my experimentation will not haunt me as much as I feared it would. The propaganda out there is really something else. Thank you.

Alex Ihlo

- February 16, 2009 @ 07:02 am PST

I thank the author for all the effort he or she put to take the time and go through all that research to perfect this article. I learned a lot about E that I never did before through this very organized article. Though I never tried E, but as a chemical substance, I don't think it should be "downgraded lawfully" to class B drugs, even after the results of what the studies proved. Personally, I think it should stay the same...Marijuana, on the other hand, should be re-classified to be lawful. LOL. :P

Thanks again for a great and useful article.

Domminic

- February 16, 2009 @ 02:02 pm PST