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M.D.M.A.
(Ecstasy)
Street
terms for MDMA/Ecstasy:
XTC,
Go, X, Adam, Hug Drug
What
does Ecstasy look like?
Ecstasy
is distributed in tablet form. Individual tablets are often imprinted with
graphic designs or commercial logos, and typically contain 100 mg of MDMA.
How
is Ecstasy used?
Ecstasy is usually ingested in tablet form, but can also be crushed and
snorted, injected, or used in suppository form.
Who
uses Ecstasy?
In
2000, more than 6.4 million people age 12 and older reported that they
have used Ecstasy at least once in their lives.Ecstasy is popular among
middle-class adolescents and young adults.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?
The vast majority of Ecstasy consumed domestically is produced in Europe.
A limited number of Ecstasy laboratories operate in the United States. Law
enforcement seized 17 clandestine Ecstasy laboratories in the United
States in 2001 compared to 7 seized in 2000.
How
much does Ecstasy cost?
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?
In addition to chemical stimulation, the drug reportedly suppresses the
need to eat, drink, or sleep.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.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.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.
MDMA
(3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic, psychoactive drug
chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen
mescaline. MDMA is an illegal drug that acts as both a stimulant and
psychedelic, producing an energizing effect, as well as distortions in
time and perception and enhanced enjoyment from tactile experiences.(1)
Adolescents and
young adults use it to promote euphoria, feelings of closeness, empathy,
sexuality and to reduce inhibitions. It is considered a "party
drug" and obtained at "rave" or "techno" parties.
However, its abuse has expanded, to include other settings outside of the
rave scenes, such as a college campus.(2)
Although MDMA is
known universally among users as ecstasy, researchers have determined that
many ecstasy tablets contain not only MDMA but also a number of other
drugs or drug combinations that can be harmful as well. Adulterants found
in MDMA tablets purchased on the street include methamphetamine, caffeine,
the over-the-counter cough suppressant dextromethorphan, the diet drug
ephedrine, and cocaine. Also, as with many other drugs of abuse, MDMA is
rarely used alone. It is not uncommon for users to mix MDMA with other
substances, such as alcohol and marijuana.(3)
In the 1980s, MDMA
gained popularity as a drug of abuse resulting in its final placement in Schedule
I of the Controlled
Substances Act (CSA).(4)
MDMA, Ecstasy, XTC,
E, X, Beans, Adams, Hug Drug, Disco Biscuit, Go
In
high doses, MDMA can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate
temperature. On rare but unpredictable occasions, this can lead to a sharp
increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), resulting in liver, kidney,
and cardiovascular system failure, and death.(5)
Because
MDMA can interfere with its own metabolism (breakdown within the body),
potentially harmful levels can be reached by repeated drug use within
short intervals.(6)
Users
of MDMA face many of the same risks as users of other stimulants such as
cocaine and amphetamines. These include increases in heart rate and blood
pressure, a special risk for people with circulatory problems or heart
disease, and other symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth
clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating.(7)
Almost
60 percent of people who use MDMA report withdrawal symptoms, including
fatigue, loss of appetite, depressed feelings, and trouble concentrating.(8)
Research
in animals links MDMA exposure to long-term damage to neurons that are
involved in mood, thinking, and judgment. A study in nonhuman primates
showed that exposure to MDMA for only 4 days caused damage to serotonin
nerve terminals that was evident 6 to 7 years later. While similar
neurotoxicity has not been definitively shown in humans, the wealth of
animal research indicating MDMA’s damaging properties suggests that MDMA
is not a safe drug for human consumption.(9)
Seized
MDMA in the U.S. is primarily manufactured in clandestine laboratories in
the Netherlands and Belgium. MDMA destined to the U.S. from the
Netherlands is transferred through Germany and Poland and smuggled into
the U.S. via body carriers, by air/sea cargo, luggage, and by express
mail. Another significant source country is Canada. Operation
Candy Box identified an international drug trafficking organization
through which up to one million MDMA tablets per month were smuggled into
the U.S. A small number of MDMA clandestine laboratories have also been
identified operating in the U.S.(10)
DMA is available in
every region of the country, principally in large metropolitan areas.
Miami, New York, and Los Angeles the primary market areas for MDMA
smuggled into the U.S. from Western European. Florida leads the nation in
MDMA seizures. International traffickers use south Florida as a base of
operations for the importation and distribution of MDMA.(11)
Among
students surveyed as part of the 2005 Monitoring
the Future study, 2.8% of eighth graders, 4.0% of tenth graders, and
5.4% of twelfth graders reported lifetime use of MDMA. In 2004, these
percentages were 2.8%, 4.3%, and 7.5%, respectively.(12)
Forty
percent of eighth graders, 51.4% of tenth graders, and 60.1% of twelfth
graders surveyed in 2005 reported that trying MDMA once or twice was a
"great risk."(13)
The
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS)
study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
surveys high school students on several risk factors including drug and
alcohol use. Results of the 2005 survey indicate that 6.3% of high school
students reported using MDMA at some point in their lifetimes. This is
down from 11.1% in 2003.(14)
In response to the
Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000, the U.S.
Sentencing Commission increased the guideline sentence for trafficking
MDMA. The new amendment, enacted on November 1, 2001, increases the
sentence for trafficking 800 MDMA pills by 300%, from 15 months to 5
years. It also increases the penalty for trafficking 8,000 pills by nearly
200%, from 41 months to 10 years.(15)
In 1988, MDMA
became a Schedule I controlled substances under the Federal Controlled
Substances Act.(16)
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Click
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1.
National Institute on Drug Abuse, InfoFacts:
MDMA, May 2006
2. Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of
Diversion Control, www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugs_concern/mdma/mdma.htm
3. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Research
Report: MDMA (Ecstasy) Abuse, March 2006
4. Drug Enforcement Administration, Drugs
of Abuse, 2005
5-7.
National Institute on Drug Abuse, InfoFacts:
MDMA, May 2006
8. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Research
Report: MDMA (Ecstasy) Abuse, March 2006
9. National Institute on Drug Abuse, InfoFacts:
MDMA, May 2006
10-11. Drug Enforcement
Administration, Office of Diversion Control, www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugs_concern/mdma/mdma.htm
12-13. National Institute
on Drug Abuse and University of Michigan, Monitoring
the Future 2005 Data From In-School Surveys of 8th-, 10th-, and
12th-Grade Students, December 2005
14. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2005, June 2006
15. U.S. Sentencing Commission, Congressional
Testimony, Statement
of Diana E. Murphy, Chair of the U.S. Sentence Commission, before
the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control (PDF),
March 21, 2001
16. Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of
Diversion Control, www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugs_concern/mdma/mdma.htm |
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