| Part Three: What's all the Fuss About? So the question remains (strictly for those who have never tried ecstasy), why do people do it? On the technical side, the euphoric feeling that ecstasy provides is caused because it releases the serotonin that is stored in your brain. MDMA produces a relaxed state of happiness. Different from acid or mushrooms, it does not produce hallucinations, but rather acts as an anti-depressant. The effects kick in about 20-40 minutes after taking a pill, accompanied by little waves of stimulation and sometimes a feeling of nausea. Between one and two hours after taking the pill, the user usually feels the peak effects, in which sensations are enhanced, music sounds better, and unique to this drug, the user feels empathetic, having the sensation of understanding and accepting others and everything else around them. "It is the LSD of our generation," says Ben, a NU student. "It is a defining drug that is much more scientific than past drugs since it targets a specific part of your brain. It has gotten really big, bleeding out from the clubs." Ecstasy is commonly known as the club drug, creating almost an underground culture in nightclubs across the country, since the drug limits the need to eat, drink or sleep. Young adults spend the night dancing away into the wee hours of the morning. "Being in a club on ecstasy is an indescribable feeling," says Kristen, a NU student. "The music consumes your entire body and the lights hypnotize you. Because a lot of people are on ecstasy, it is not a meat market, but rather a place where you can truly enjoy the music and the people that you came with and meet there." However, according to one of New York's hottest club owners, it is not just ecstasy that creates this culture, but rather, the combination of the venue, the DJ and the drugs. "People travel across the country to hear certain DJ's spin," Bill says. "In my opinion, house music is the music of this generation, with or without the drugs. But at the same time, the combination of the actual club, the style of the DJ as well as the drugs, keep people coming back for more." If ecstasy is so wonderful in so many people's minds, then what is all the fuss about? As with all illicit drugs, there are side effects to MDMA. Ecstasy was announced illegal in 1985, being listed as a "Schedule 1" drug, the most dangerous drug class meaning that it has no medical value. Research shows that the use of ecstasy can lead to memory loss and possible damage to brain cells that regulate mood, sleep and appetite, since as much as MDMA releases serotonin, it also depletes it. This is due to the fact that when serotonin is released, it gets broken down and metabolized away, and therefore, your brain is left with less serotonin then it originally had. And once it is gone, it is lost forever. Some frequent ecstasy users actually experience "post-E depression" after taking it, due to the lack of serotonin in their bodies and the temporary inactivity of their receptors. But for users, it is a risk that they are willing to take. "I put so many other substances into my body, just add it to the pile," says Chuck, a NU student. The lack of proper research is also a contributing factor to why some don't feel that it is that harmful of a drug. "People question the side effects and long term effects, but there haven't been big enough research studies for longitudinal research," Ben adds. "It is the same as scaled down Prozac, just on a more intense level." next: Home at NU back: A National Epidemic [ or, go back to the top ] |
