The popularity of Ecstasy (MDMA) with our nation聮s youth has health officials on the alert. It is becoming the staple of the ever-popular rave scene -- parties where teens and young adults "rave all night" because of the stimulating effects of the drug.
"Ecstasy is a stimulant. It gives people a lot of energy so they can dance all night," said Judy Taub, a counselor in CU-Boulder聮s Substance Abuse Program at Wardenburg Health Center.
But according to Taub, all-night dancing and Ecstasy is a deadly mixture. England聮s National Poisons Unit reports Ecstasy has killed at least 15 young people in that country and caused severe dehydration and heat exhaustion in numerous patients.
In almost every case, a recreational dose of the drug had been taken at a dance club or party where crowds danced vigorously in popular, all-night dance sessions. In most of the serious cases reported, the users had collapsed unconscious or started to convulse while dancing.
"The majority of the ecstasy deaths have actually come from heat exhaustion or dehydration," said Taub. "Because of what Ecstasy is doing in the brain, people tend to not feel thirsty even though they are thirsty," cautioned Taub. "So they tend to not drink as much water as they need. They exert themselves and get more dehydrated and more overheated."
Other possible dangers associated with Ecstasy include:
o permanent damage to nerve terminals in the brain (based on research from Guy聮s Hospital Poisons Unit in London)
o liver and kidney damage
o internal hemorrhaging
o mood alteration and depression
Ecstasy usually takes the form of pills offered in different varieties. There are red and black capsules known as "Dennis the Menace"; "White Doves" --pills with white dove imprints; "hamburgers" 聳- white or off-white tablets; and "Disco Biscuits," large flat white tablets with brown speckles.
"I think there are lots of pulls for these drugs for teens," said Taub. "I think with adolescence there聮s always that experimentation and seeking of new ways to have fun."
Taub, who works in CU-Boulder聮s Substance Abuse Program, says that most of the teens she talks to say that there isn聮t much else for them to do. She suggests parents and educators talk to teens to help them broaden their choices of things to do.
Ecstasy was first synthesized in 1914. In the 1970s, American therapists used it as a means of reducing hostility in some patients, but recreational use became so widespread it was banned in the United States in 1985. It is now listed as a Class A drug carrying the stiffest penalties.
Doctors cannot prescribe Ecstasy, and a license is required in order to conduct research on it.