Ecstasy
Well, ecstasy has not always been this controversial a subject. A
century ago it simply referred to a transcendent and desirable state of
being that had nothing to do with the little pills that have become
associated with pulsing, repetitive music and sweaty bodies moving in a
trance-like state.
In fact even when ecstasy the pill was born, way back in 1913, it
wasn't called ecstasy, but 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine that was
quickly and mercifully shortened to MDMA which is still its name to
this day.
MDMA is called by many other names on the street, and all of them
reflect the affectionate way that it's users feel toward it.
Rumor has
it that it was first dubbed 'empathy' which was changed to the more
catchy 'ecstasy'. The drug is also known as Adam, XTC, hug, beans and
love drug.
The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) classifies it differently:
"a synthetic, psychoactive drug chemically similar to the stimulant
methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline". For this institution
it is not so much a hug as it is potentially neurotoxic and
"potentially dangerous to health".
So how did this particular stimulant -- this particular version of the
age-old theme of getting high -- find its way onto the streets and into
the large warehouse parties that have become known as raves. It was a
convoluted path that began perfectly respectably at the turn of the
century as a drug patented by the German company, Merck.
Imagine a medication for slimming that not only helped you lose weight
but also filled you with an overpowering euphoria. It is rumored that
this was MDMA's first incarnation. It was spotted in the military
around the 1950's where folklore says it may have been adopted as some
sort of truth drug.
The drug's uncanny ability to loosen the tongues of people who took it
was later to become an important therapeutic tool in the 1970's. Used
by experimental psychotherapists who were prepared to run sessions
longer than the regular 50 minute slots -- giving the drug time to take
effect -- were reputed to give the equivalent of five months of therapy
in the space of that many hours.
But, we jump ahead. First there was a daring biochemist who developed
such a superior insecticide that he was given his own laboratory and
carte blanche to do with it what he wanted. What he chose to do was
later to cause his summary dismissal. His field of study was
psychedelic drugs and his approach was similar to that of a botanist.
Alexander Shulgin is called the stepfather of MDMA presumably because
he adopted it at a later stage. In his book, "Phenethylamines I Have
Known and Loved" Ecstasy is one of 179 psychoactive drugs that his long
and controversial career brought him in direct contact with. He was the
one who won over some members of the field of psychotherapy.
Despite all this experimentation the 'golden age' of MDMA passed
unchallenged by the authorities under a different name, Adam. The name
ecstasy became popular in the mid 1980's as students across America
began to use the drug recreationally. At that point it was still legal
and available over the counter at bars. Ironically the free
accessibility ultimately spelt its downfall as the authorities began to
clamp down. Media attention coupled with a growing awareness of
potentially fatal impurities in some designer drugs created a scare
that ended with the DEA declaring MDMA a schedule 1 drug.
So what does this drug do that makes it so popular and so
controversial? Ecstasy travels to the brain where it acts upon the
neurons that effect the production and activities of serotonin, that
precious neurotransmitter that is responsible for much of our potential
for joy and euphoria.
When we take ecstasy it messes with this complex and subtle mood
machine that master manages not only how we feel, but also our sexual
activity, sleep and sensitivity to pain. Though addictions to the drug
are not as much of a problem as they can be with other drugs there are
certain cognitive, physical and psychological effects associated with
chronic usage.
Like any chemical stimulant, the intensity of the high is directly
related to the severity of the exhaustion and hangover that follows.
Because the surge of energy experienced under its influence is
manufactured and not natural, exertion fails to be monitored in ways
that maintain the body's delicate equilibrium. The body and mind that
last night felt able to fly can now barely move.
And yet another sobering thought regarding this drug that gives so
generously and then takes away even more, is the possibility of
neurotoxicity that has been observed when animals are exposed to MDMA.
A study has shown that exposure to MDMA for only four days caused
damage to serotonin nerve terminals that were still evident six to
seven years later.
