STIMULANT

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Ecstasy

INTRODUCTION

It is an amphetamine. Hence it has all the characteristics of an amphetamine.

The MDMA molecule - Methylenedioxymethamphetamine – is extremely dangerous. The purer the product, the more dangerous it is. It is very easy to use: the ecstasy pill is "popped".

It comes in various forms – pills, capsules, tablets and so on. Colors may vary. Ecstasy is also called the love pill, Cadillac, X, E.

It is manufactured very easily in illegal laboratories. The content in MDMA – the active ingredient – varies from 9 to 117mg per pill. Other drugs can be mixed with it – alcohol, cocaine, antidepressant, LSD and so on.

If mixed with alcohol, this drug is very dangerous.

EFFECTS OF ECSTASY

Ecstasy is a stimulant.

Whether pure or not, MDMA can lead to brain damage, heart disorders, nausea, panic attacks, depression, paranoia and so on.

Taken in high doses, it can have hallucinogenic effects similar to those of LSD.

The inner temperature of amphetamine consumers during a "techno" or a rave party can reach 107 °F. Taken in high dosage, it causes convulsions that can lead to death.

One of the risks is to go beyond the limits of one's physical endurance without feeling exhaustion.

Noise and heat enhance the product's toxicity. Some deaths are due to body exhaustion.

When the effects of ecstasy fade away, one feels depressed, confused and aches. Some dealers capitalize on this by offering heroin to mask the coming down effects – "burn out".

Ecstasy can trigger depressions, inability to reason, loss of memory and so on. These serious disorders can occur months or years after taking the pills – 4 to 7 years.

The consumption of ecstasy and other amphetamines is becoming more and more widespread. Severe intoxications and deaths have been increasing regularly over the past 10 years. Deaths often occur after taking moderate doses.

One tablet can be lethal or can destroy the kidneys irrevocably, leaving the person requiring life-long dialysis treatment.

CONSEQUENCES OF ECSTASY CONSUMPTION

  • • Muscular pains
    • Fatigue and bad mood
    • Feeling of loss of self-control
    • InsomniaHyperthermia
    • Anorexia
    • Sweating
    • Severe dehydration
    • Scholastic failure
    • Loss of ability to feel fatigue
    • Distortion of sensory perceptions
    • Stimulation
    • Acute renal failure
    • Toxic hepatitis
    • High heart rate, hypertension
    • Pulmonary edema
    • Depression
    • Attempted suicide

Testimonies

“I have seen a guy who is stuck permanently stoned. Every morning, he stares into space. He looks like he is retarded. He got like that after popping. I know many of them who have gone into psychiatric hospitals. Parents don’t know why they go to a psychiatrist. No one seems to understand how this has happened. We can’t say anything, but all of us know.”

Patrick, drug-addict

"Rave parties are OK as long as you don't take X. But as soon as you start, you'll assume the people who tell you to stop are assholes. You'll think you have found something really cool and won't let anybody try to tell you otherwise. As soon as you start to like it, it's too late, you're done for"

Elsa, aged 17, upper middle class background,
Brive-la-Gaillarde, France

Extract from “Et si on parlait du haschich?” by Marie-Christine d'Welles