Psychedelics in general can cause nearly any type of symptom to manifest because they affect the mind, the general nervous-system, regulatory chemical systems, and one's perceptions. Less common side effects include hyper-salivation (uncontrollable, profuse saliva), paranoia, a profound sense of isolation & loneliness, psychotic episodes, extreme panic attacks, extreme depression, and a variety of other more mild mental/spiritual disruptions.

MDMA users may encounter problems similar to those experienced by amphetamine and cocaine users, including addiction.

MDMA damages brain serotonin neurons.

In the central nervous system, serotonin is believed to play an important role in the regulation of anger, aggression, body temperature, mood, sleep, vomiting, sexuality, and appetite. Low levels of serotonin have been associated with several disorders, namely increase in aggressive and angry behaviors, clinical depression, Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, tinnitus, fibromyalgia, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders[citation needed] and intense religious experiences[1]. If neurons of the brainstem that make serotonin—serotonergic neurons—are abnormal, there is a risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Recent research indicates heavy MDMA use causes persistent memory problems in humans.

Psychological effects can include confusion, depression, sleep problems, anxiety, and paranoia during, and sometimes weeks after, taking the drug.

Physical effects can include muscle tension, involuntary teeth-clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating. Increases in heart rate and blood pressure are a special risk for people with circulatory or heart disease.
Also, there is evidence that people who develop a rash that looks like acne after using MDMA may be risking severe side effects, including liver damage, if they continue to use the drug.

The short-term health risks of taking MDMA include hypertension, dehydration and hyperthermia, with the last two particularly notable in the rave context of dancing for long periods of time, as the drug's stimulatory effects can mask the body's normal sense of exhaustion and thirst. MDMA can impair judgment, resulting in other dangers such as driving under the influence or practicing unsafe sex. Because the lethal dose is many times higher than the typical recreational dose of 100-150 mg, overdoses are rare, but between 10 to 100 people die each year in the US with MDMA in the blood samples.

Much of what is sold as "ecstasy" on the black market actually contains other drugs, some of which can be more dangerous than MDMA, like PMA, speed, DXM and PCP.

In parts of Canada and the United States, tests of pressed pills and capsules have been found to contain only small proportions of pure MDMA, containing instead caffeine, ketamine and methamphetamine in proportions larger than the MDMA.

The number one cause of death following MDMA use is hyponatremia, low blood sodium levels as a result of drinking too much water.

Apart from the dangers from impurities (as listed above), The second most important cause of death from MDMA use is malignant hyperthermia, core body temperature rising too high until the major organs shut down at about 42°C. This is a bit more problematic than blood salt imbalance, harder to treat and to avoid.

It usually happens as a secondary consequence of serotonin syndrome, which is where too much serotonin is released into the brain. This can occur with MDMA if too much 5HTP is consumed alongside, as this can overload the brain with serotonin once the 5HTP gets converted.

The user can start to become confused, red-faced, hot and dry to the touch…this is serotonin syndrome, which can lead into lethal malignant hyperthermia if it becomes too severe.

The standard treatment for ecstasy overdose given in hospitals includes a range of drugs such as cyproheptadine or chlorpromazine [24] but these are often of limited efficacy. MDMA overdose mainly results in hyperthermia and hyponatremia, which leads onto convulsions from the hyponatremia and rhabdomyolysis (toxic muscle breakdown) from the hyperthermia. These complications can be treated; benzodiazepines such as diazepam or lorazepam are used to control convulsions and dantrolene blocks rhabdomyolysis.[25] These drugs will be given in hospital but by the time the overdose symptoms become bad enough that the treatment is deemed necessary, it may be too late to save the patient.

Long-term effects are still heavily debated among scientists.

MDMA rapidly increases the levels of free-radicals in the system and overwhelms the reserves of scavengers. The radicals then damage cell walls, reduce the flexibility of blood vessels, destroy enzymes, and cause other molecular damage in the neurological pathways.

It has been shown that MDMA-neurotoxic effects are increased by a hyperthermic environment.

A combination of antioxidants, including Vitamin A, C, and E are recommended; taking multivitamins including selenium, riboflavin, zinc, carotenoids, etc. should help reduce oxidative damage. Many of these vitamins, though, are water soluble, and are quickly excreted from the body. The typical MDMA user is psychoactive for 4-6 hours and may not have an appetite from the time of taking until the following sleep cycle or many hours later. These vitamins flush through the system in 3-4 hours. Damage occurs in the absence of these antioxidants.

17 studies showed that ecstasy users had a slight tendency to be more impulsive and depressed than controls. Sumnall and Cole's analysis showed a slight increase in the prevalence of depressive symptoms in ecstasy users over controls. Of course, in retrospective studies like these we are always faced with a chicken-or-egg question: did these impulsive and depressed people use ecstasy to self-medicate or did otherwise normal people become depressed and impulsive after using ecstasy?

Because of its illegality, the dose and purity of an ecstasy pill varies dramatically. The dose may be stronger than is advertised, may be adulterated, or might not even contain MDMA.
In some cases, pills marketed as ecstasy do not contain MDMA or the similar MDEA or MDA, but instead are substituted with various substances like ketamine, methamphetamine, and caffeine. Some users purchase pill testing kits to verify that pills are actually MDMA. Organizations such as DanceSafe provide pill testing kits.

Hypertension is a risk factor given the increased cardiac load.
Ecstasy affects the regulation of the body's internal systems. Continuous dancing without sufficient breaks or drinks can lead to dangerous overheating and dehydration. Drinking too much water without consuming a corresponding amount of salt can lead to hyponatremia or water intoxication.

The use of ecstasy can exacerbate depression[citation needed] and may produce temporary depression as an after-effect for some users. Some individuals also might experience irritability in the first couple of days following use of MDMA.

The use of ecstasy can be very dangerous when combined with other drugs (particularly monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and antiretroviral drugs, in particular Ritonavir). Combining MDMA with MAOIs can precipitate a hypertensive crisis and can result in a near-fatal repercussion.[citation needed]
Long-term after-effects are greatly exacerbated by high doses and frequent use.

A small percentage of users may be highly sensitive to MDMA; this may make first-time use especially hazardous. This includes, but is not limited to, people with congenital heart defects. (Some scientists have suggested that a small percentage of people lack the proper enzymes to break down the drug.



Addiction and Tolerance

The potential of MDMA to produce addiction (dependence) is controversial. Some studies indicate that many users may be addicted, but this depends on the definition of addiction; while many ecstasy users may take the drug regularly and develop significant tolerance to its effects, relatively few users exhibit cravings or physical symptoms of dependence, or find it difficult to stop using the drug when they decide to do so. Cottler interviewed 52 users and found that 43% met standard criteria for dependence. However, some of these people may have been inappropriately diagnosed with dependence because they reported tolerance or after effects from MDMA.
Tolerance and after effects ('withdrawal' effects) are symptoms of dependence for many drugs, but seem to occur in some MDMA users who are actually not dependent. For example, studies in Switzerland in which MDMA was given to people who had never used it before documented after effects. When people are classified as addicted to MDMA, it is not clear if that indicates a difficulty in quitting the drug. In a prospective study in Germany, many who were initially categorized as addicted, spontaneously 'improved' without any treatment for the alleged addiction. Given the complexities in classifying MDMA users as addicted, conclusions about the addictive potential of MDMA are less reliable than nicotine addiction. Cases have been reported of addictive personality types abusing MDMA as they would with alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs, taking excessively high doses against the natural recommendations, and taking it too frequently and even daily, against recommendations. However they typically end up abandoning MDMA for drugs more suitable to addictive behavior after a period of time, and the tolerance issues of MDMA make it naturally antagonistic to long term daily addiction.


In my own personal oppinion pure MDMA is not bad if taken only on special occasions and use should not become regular or otherwise habit. Meaning one should not be going to the club every fucking weekend to find and / or take x. One should also use a testing kit or have a truley reliable source when obtaining x to ensure it's purity. However from everything i've read it's rare to find pure MDMA anywere in the US or Canada. Wich is one of the many reasons I do not take exctasy.

You can go to the club and have fun without doing drugs.

Try it some time.

I love you all. Hope you enjoyed reading this and learned some thing you didn't already know from it. Please spred the word to anyone you know that is taking x on a regular basis or considering trying it for the first time. Over all, in my opinion, it is less harmfull than many other drugs.

Just be carefull and don't drive while on it or do anything stupid like mix it with other drugs.

And remember the key to life is moderation.  

--Last edited by MeCh on 2007-05-06 20:06:06 --