The Elegance of MDMA
wtiggins
Published
09/20/2012
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/ecstasy/f/mdma_faq05.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_MDMA_on_the_human_body
http://dancesafe.org/drug-information/ecstasy-slideshow
http://www.thegooddrugsguide.com/ecstasy/effects.htm
The latest studies show that Ecstasy use can impair the serotonin system and memory performance. Research conducted on subjects who had used E on a couple of hundred occasions showed that people who use the drug had suffered brain damage. The level of brain damage users experience is directly proportional to the number of times the drug was used.The brain damage found among X-TC users involved the cells responsible for releasing serotonin in the brain. An imaging technique known as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) was used to study the brains of a group of Ecstasy users. Researchers found that the number of healthy serotonin cells in the participants' brains was between 20-60 percent lower than normal. This type of change in the normal level of cells in the brain accounts for the memory loss that long-term users of E may experience.
MDMA can also be dangerous to overall health and, on rare occasions, lethal. MDMA can have many of the same physical effects as other stimulants, such as cocaine and amphetamines. These include increases in heart rate and blood pressureâwhich present risks of particular concern for people with circulatory problems or heart diseaseâand other symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating.
In high doses, MDMA can interfere with the bodyâs ability to regulate temperature. On rare but unpredictable occasions, this can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), which can result in liver, kidney, cardiovascular system failure, or death. MDMA can interfere with its own metabolism (breakdown within the body); therefore, potentially harmful levels can be reached by repeated MDMA administration within short periods of time. Other drugs that are chemically similar to MDMA, such as MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine, the parent drug of MDMA) and PMA (paramethoxyamphetamine, associated with fatalities in the United States and Australia),5 are sometimes sold as ecstasy. These drugs can be neurotoxic or create additional health risks to the user. Furthermore, ecstasy tablets may contain other substances, such as ephedrine (a stimulant); dextromethorphan (DXM, a cough suppressant); ketamine (an anesthetic used mostly by veterinarians); caffeine; cocaine; and methamphetamine. Although the combination of MDMA with one or more of these drugs may be inherently dangerous, users who also combine these with additional substances such as marijuana and alcohol may be putting themselves at even higher risk for adverse health effects.
<---------So refined and elegant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_MDMA_on_the_human_body
http://dancesafe.org/drug-information/ecstasy-slideshow
http://www.thegooddrugsguide.com/ecstasy/effects.htm
The latest studies show that Ecstasy use can impair the serotonin system and memory performance. Research conducted on subjects who had used E on a couple of hundred occasions showed that people who use the drug had suffered brain damage. The level of brain damage users experience is directly proportional to the number of times the drug was used.The brain damage found among X-TC users involved the cells responsible for releasing serotonin in the brain. An imaging technique known as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) was used to study the brains of a group of Ecstasy users. Researchers found that the number of healthy serotonin cells in the participants' brains was between 20-60 percent lower than normal. This type of change in the normal level of cells in the brain accounts for the memory loss that long-term users of E may experience.
MDMA can also be dangerous to overall health and, on rare occasions, lethal. MDMA can have many of the same physical effects as other stimulants, such as cocaine and amphetamines. These include increases in heart rate and blood pressureâwhich present risks of particular concern for people with circulatory problems or heart diseaseâand other symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating.
In high doses, MDMA can interfere with the bodyâs ability to regulate temperature. On rare but unpredictable occasions, this can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), which can result in liver, kidney, cardiovascular system failure, or death. MDMA can interfere with its own metabolism (breakdown within the body); therefore, potentially harmful levels can be reached by repeated MDMA administration within short periods of time. Other drugs that are chemically similar to MDMA, such as MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine, the parent drug of MDMA) and PMA (paramethoxyamphetamine, associated with fatalities in the United States and Australia),5 are sometimes sold as ecstasy. These drugs can be neurotoxic or create additional health risks to the user. Furthermore, ecstasy tablets may contain other substances, such as ephedrine (a stimulant); dextromethorphan (DXM, a cough suppressant); ketamine (an anesthetic used mostly by veterinarians); caffeine; cocaine; and methamphetamine. Although the combination of MDMA with one or more of these drugs may be inherently dangerous, users who also combine these with additional substances such as marijuana and alcohol may be putting themselves at even higher risk for adverse health effects.
<---------So refined and elegant.
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