Mostly known as a ‘party drug,’ MDMA may also have use in therapy for PSTD, anxiety, eating disorders, and more. Recently, the FDA designated MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD as a Breakthrough Therapy and ongoing MDMA studies can be found on clinicaltrials.gov. The DEA considers MDMA an illegal schedule I drug with no recognized medical uses. Because use promotes trust, closeness, empathy, and enhances sexual desire, the risk of unsafe sexual practices may increase, resulting in HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, or other sexually transmitted diseases. It is also available as a powder and is sometimes snorted, taken as a liquid, and it is occasionally smoked but rarely injected.

Diuretics such as alcohol may exacerbate these risks further due to causing excessive amounts of dehydration. Users are advised to pay close attention to their water intake, drinking neither too much nor too little, and to take care not to overexert themselves to avoid heat-stroke, which can be fatal. Crystals or powder (commonly called Molly) is a white to brownish substance which can be dissolved, crushed, put into gel capsules or edible paper (“parachutes”).

Clinical studies suggest that MDMA may increase the risk of long-term or permanent problems with memory and learning. As the rave and club scene expanded to metropolitan and suburban areas across the country, MDMA use and distribution increased as well. Today, the drug is still used by a broader group of people who more commonly call it Ecstasy or Molly. Tolerance to many of the effects of MDMA develops with prolonged and repeated use.

Short-term side effects of MDMA

In general, the unlicensed use, sale or manufacture of MDMA are all criminal offences.

• The stimulant effects of the drug, which enable the user to dance for extended periods, combined with the hot, crowded conditions usually found at raves can lead to dehydration, hyperthermia (dangerous increase in body temperature), and heart or kidney failure.
• Like most illegal drugs, the purity of MDMA changes all the time, so forms that might once have been more reliable cannot be guaranteed to remain so.
• As with other stimulants, the chronic use of MDMA can be considered moderately addictive with a high potential for abuse and is capable of causing psychological dependence among certain users.
• They can also contain very neurotoxic substances (such as PMA, 4-CA, among many others).

Preclinical studies

Unlike Ecstasy or Molly, pure MDMA has been proven sufficiently safe in clinical settings when taken a limited number of times in moderate doses. It’s also worth noting a 2010 study found MDMA to be among the least risky drugs to consumers and society as a whole. Because MDMA is so popular and because it goes well with dance parties, the demand for it usually exceeds supply, especially at any given location on any given night. This creates an opening for unscrupulous individuals to sell virtually anything as ‘ecstasy’. While ‘ecstasy’ is the popular name for MDMA, the functional definition of ecstasy is any pill represented as MDMA on the street. Ecstasy pills are notoriously unreliable in content, more so than most other street drugs, and commonly contain either caffeine, ephedrine, amphetamines, other MDXX’s, DXM, or in rare cases DOX’s, and don’t necessarily contain MDMA or any psychoactive.

FIND TREATMENT:

It may be able to help those dealing with trauma to feel safe and capable of breaking out of harmful thought patterns. When you contact 911, always let them know what drugs the person took and how much. Fentanyl can make mdma wiki drugs it’s mixed with, including MDMA, more dangerous. Often, people who purchase MDMA and other drugs are unaware those drugs have been cut with fentanyl.

Potentially Dangerous Effects in the Body

MDMA first became popular in nightclubs, but people now take it in a wide range of settings. Researchers are also studying MDMA as a treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in supervised clinical research trials. “Severe dopaminergic neurotoxicity in primates after a common recreational dose regimen of MDMA”77 is an article by George A. Ricaurte which was published in September 2002 in the peer-reviewed journal Science, one of the world’s top academic journals. It was later retracted; instead of using MDMA, methamphetamine had been used in the test. It is thought that MDMA’s metabolites play a large role in the uncertain levels of neurotoxicity. For example, a metabolite of MDMA called alpha-Methyldopamine (α-Me-DA, which is known to be toxic to dopamine neurons7518) was thought believed to be involved in the toxicity of MDMA to serotonin receptors.

🚫 The main risks to watch out for

Studies are conflicting on MDMA use and its affects on memory and cognition. Always conduct independent research (e.g. Google, DuckDuckGo, PubMed) to ensure that a combination of two or more substances is safe to consume. Upon a single administration, it takes about 1 month for the tolerance to be reduced to half and 2.5 months to be back at baseline (in the absence of further consumption). It is strongly recommended that one use harm reduction practices when using this substance.

Molecules of the amphetamine class all contain a phenethylamine core comprised of a phenyl ring bound to an amino (NH2) group through an ethyl chain, with an additional methyl substitution at Rα. In addition to this, MDMA contains a methyl substitution on RN, a feature it shares with methamphetamine. Critically, the MDMA molecule also contains substitutions at R3 and R4 of the phenyl ring with oxygen groups — these oxygen groups are incorporated into a methylenedioxy ring through a methylene bridge. MDMA shares this methylenedioxy ring with other entactogens and stimulants like MDA, MDEA and MDAI. MDMA primarily works its magic by elevating serotonin activity in the brain.

MDMA exhibits cross-tolerance with all dopaminergic and serotonergic stimulants, meaning that after the consumption of MDMA all stimulants will have a reduced effect. MDA constitutes part of the core structure of the β-adrenergic receptor agonist protokylol. Other classic psychedelics like LSD can evoke a blurring of ego boundaries between the self and the external world, a temporary experience known as ego loss or ego dissolution. For the uninitiated or unprepared consumer, this can be confronting or even anxiety-provoking. MDMA is a synthesized compound that begins with the precursor safrole—an oily liquid extracted from the sassafras tree’s bark or fruit, which is native to North America and Asia. Through a number of different chemical formulations, safrole can be synthesized into MDMA.

What are the effects of MDMA use?

MDMA has moderate to high abuse potential but a conversely low potential for a genuine psychological dependence or addiction which appears even lower than cannabis (lower than 10%). Interestingly, MDMA’s potential for overuse and dependence or addiction can actually be greatly influenced by certain geographical components such as in other cultures or subcultures similarly to ketamine. Although ketamine‘s addiction potential is still notably higher across various cultures then compared to MDMA. Acute adverse effects of MDMA are usually the result of high amounts or multiple doses; either when done too frequently or excessively within a 24 hour period.

This effect can be lessened by relaxing, but can also be relieved by placing a hot flannel over the genitals to encourage blood flow.6869 However, MDMA causes water retention and dilution of electrolytes. MDMA is an illegal drug that acts as both a stimulant and psychedelic, producing an energizing effect, as well as distortions in time and perception and enhanced enjoyment from tactile experiences. MDMA is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, which means that the DEA has determined that it has no medical benefit and a high potential for abuse. 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (also known as ecstasy, E, XTC, emma, molly, mandy, pingers, and MDMA) is a classical entactogen substance of the amphetamine class.

The compound slipped into disuse and fell off the radar until the late ‘70s, when a group of underground psychotherapists investigating psychedelic therapy stumbled across it. MDMA became increasingly popular in their underground therapy sessions; these trailblazing psychotherapists found it helped patients to open up and achieve insights into their problems. MDMA is a psychedelic often referred to as the “hug drug.” With a reputation as a party pill, MDMA can heighten sensations and enhance social connection. However, this potent compound boasts therapeutic uses that extend far beyond its ability to bring good feels at a rave. There are some studies which suggest that long-term overuse and abuse of MDMA can cause or increase depression.

It is classified as an entactogen due to how it facilitates feelings of closeness with one’s self and others. A notable property of MDMA is that tolerance builds unusually quickly and many users report that it dramatically loses effectiveness if used on a frequent basis. Recent evidence suggests the safe and potentially effective use of MDMA to treat the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.319 Unlike other treatments for mental illness, MDMA would be intended to be used infrequently and alongside psychotherapy in treatment. In Australia, MDMA was rescheduled on 1 July 2023 as a schedule 8 substance (available on prescription) when used in the treatment of PTSD, while remaining a schedule 9 substance (prohibited) for all other uses. Permits for research uses on humans must be approved by a recognized ethics committee on human research. In one study comparing MDMA and LSD, MDMA was found to increase extraversion and concentration but resulted in a gentler experience of ego dissolution.

In more concrete terms, the drug has a unique touchy-feely pharmacological profile that increases feelings of emotional empathy, closeness with others, and prosocial behavior. MDMA exerts a unique set of effects on the brain that enable it to treat diverse mental illnesses, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. While it shares characteristics with other psychedelic compounds, it differs in some ways too.