Ecstasy dangers

The reasons Strike wrote this book. The reasons you re reading this book. Ecstasy is the most benign drug Strike has ever encountered. It is passive yet powerful. By powerful Strike does not mean that it incapacitates or makes one dangerous. It is, in fact, quite the opposite. Its power is in its ability to evoke a total sensory bath of tactile, visual and mental enhancement. One s perception is perfectly clear. Hallucinations are nonexistent. The feeling one has is, literally, ecstasy. Plus, it is one of the few narcotics in the world that is not physically addictive. Why this substance was taken away from the people is a question that only government-funded scientists can answer. 

Very dangerous - real Ecstasy can kill first time. It is also illegal to possess a class A drug. 

There is virtually no one who is involved in drug abuse research, or who studies the properties of recreationally used drugs, that is not by now familiar with 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) (figure 1). Over the past 4 years this substance, usually referred to in the popular press as Ecstasy, has received widespread media attention. This chapter will relate recent findings with respect to the potential dangers attendant on the use of MDMA and explore its pharmacological properties. 

Ecstasy, shown here in pill form, produces feelings of elation and well-being but also causes dangerous side effects that include dehydration, loss of control and appetite, and memory and weight loss. (SPL/Photo Researchers, Inc.)... 

Figure 4.1 Emergency room visits due to Ecstasy use have increased dramatically in recent years. Whiie many people believe that Ecstasy is harmless, these numbers prove that as Ecstasy s popularity increases, so do its dangers.

There has been considerable controversy over the dangerousness of ecstasy. Some researchers, based on animal studies or positron emission tomography (PET) scans of users brains, believe the drug causes a destruction of the brain cells responsible for producing serotonin, an important neurotransmitter. However, it is unclear how lasting or dangerous these effects are in humans. Ecstasy can also cause severe dehydration and unpredictable cardiovascular effects. 

GHB (GAMMA HYDROXYBUTYRATE) Originally soldin health food stores as a growth hormone, a liquid nervous depressant touted for its ecstasy-like qualities. Banned by the FDA in 1990, the respiratory depression it can cause makes it among the most dangerous club drugs in circulation. 

Ecstasy use is associated with physiological damage to a number of body systems. These include the heart, brain, liver, kidneys, and the body s ability to regulate temperature. Ecstasy increases heart rate and blood pressure, which is especially dangerous for someone with a known or unknown heart condition, but can also cause an irregular heartbeat in an ordinarily healthy person. An irregular heartbeat means the heart pumps less effectively therefore the blood flow to the brain and other organs is not adequate. This condition increases the risk for heart attack, stroke, and other types of heart failure. 

As GBL and related drugs are powerful sedatives that depress brain function and respiration, they are especially dangerous when mixed with alcohol or other drugs with similar effects. They can cause seizures and are more deadly when mixed with ecstasy or other club drugs that excite the nervous system. On the club scene or at raves, combining these drugs is unfortunately a common practice. 

On its own, ketamine toxicity is less of a concern than accidents caused by the intensity of the dissociative state and loss of muscle coordination and control. However, given that ketamine is frequently taken with other drugs such as alcohol or ecstasy, clinical reports on the dangers of its recreational use are probably inadequate. 

Some ecstasy users take breaks from physical activity and use cold showers to minimize the dangers of elevated body temperatures. Drug users have tried to safeguard against PMA-induced body temperature elevations in this manner. Fact—Highly elevated body temperature due to PMA poisoning does not respond to these approaches. 

The nanacates are poisonous mushrooms which have nothing to do with peyote. It is known from olden times that their use induces intoxication, states of ecstasy and mental aberrations, but, notwithstanding the dangers attendant upon their use, people everywhere they grow have taken advantage of their intoxicating properties up to the present time. 

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