What is ecstasy?

Ecstasy tablets are supposedly made up of the primary ingredient methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), but as the ingredients required to make synthetic drugs are becoming more difficult to obtain, the formulation of pills marketed as ecstasy can vary greatly. They are more likely to contain methamphetamine (speed) combined with a synthetic hallucinogen or para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA).

Ecstasy is known by a variety of other names, including: E, pills, Ex, pingers, E n C, eccy, MDMA, XTC, eggs and disco biscuits.

For more information about ecstasy and other illicit drugs, visit australia.gov.au/drugs

Physical effects of ecstasy

The stimulants in ecstasy actually speed up the activity in the central nervous system. At the same time the hallucinogens in the drug can affect perception, causing things to appear distorted, or things that don't exist to be seen or heard.

There are usually three phases experienced when taking ecstasy:

Coming up: the user may experience tightening of muscles, especially jaw, dilated pupils, visual distortions, nausea or vomiting, strong pulse, increased temperature, confusion and panic.

Plateauing: the user may experience feeling happy, more awake, relaxed, open, confident, talkative and have decreased urine output and increased thirst.

Coming down: the user can feel physically exhausted, depressed, anxious, paranoid, irritable, unable to sleep and the comedown will be more intense if they have taken other drugs, including alcohol.

Problems using ecstasy

Short term
- Increased heart rate
- Increased blood pressure
- Overheating
- Jaw clenching
- Teeth grinding
- Tremors
- Nausea

Long term
- Cracked teeth through clenching and grinding
- High blood pressure
- Possible memory and attention impairment
- Lethargy
- Decreased emotional control
- Severe depression
- Possible nerve cell damage

Taking ecstasy in a hot or humid environment, like a dance party or nightclub, can cause dehydration and raise the body's temperature to dangerous levels. This increases the risk of the body heating up to levels that cause organs to fail, breakdown and eventually cause the heart to stop.

There is also a risk of serotonin syndrome or toxicity, which is an excess of the neurotransmitter serotonin (brain chemical) typically caused from mixing ecstasy with various, but not all, antidepressants or simply taking an overdose. The symptoms include:

- agitation
- confusion
- headache
- tachycardia: a rapid heart beat that greater than 100 beats per minute

- hypertension (high blood pressure)
- hyperpyrexia: an abnormally high fever
- muscle twitches
- coma
- death

There are a number of psychological problems associated with ecstasy including the 'hangover effect', depression that can last for days after using ecstasy. This is because serotonin in the brain is reduced by ecstasy use. Research in animals shows that this serotonin loss is long lasting (up to three years) and may even be permanent.