MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-Methylamphetamine) is an popular drug of the phenethylaminePhenethylamine (PEA) is a natural monoamine alkaloid, trace amine, and psychoactive drug with stimulant effects. In the mammalian central nervous system, phenethylamine is believed to function as a neuromodulator or neurotransmitter. and amphetamine class known for its empathogenic, euphoric, and stimulant effects, and has also been used in psychotherapy. It most frequently comes in tablet form, although it is also found in capsules or as powder. MDMA is also known as Ecstasy, Molly, XTC, E and several other names.
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. They can also contain very neurotoxic substances (such as PMA, 4-CA, among many others). This problem has led to the development of simple MDMA Test Kits that may help give the user a general sense of the content of a pill.
The experience is often called rolling.
MDMA was first synthesized in 1912 by Merck chemist Anton Köllisch.
In the mid-1970s, Alexander Shulgin heard from his students about unusual effects of MDMA; among others, the drug had helped one of them to overcome his stutter. Intrigued, Shulgin synthesized MDMA and tried it himself in 1976. Two years later, he and David E. Nichols published the first report on the drug's psychotropic effect in humans. They described "altered state of consciousness with emotional and sensual overtones" that can be compared "to marijuana, and to psilocybin devoid of the hallucinatory component".
In the early 1980s the drug emerged in the parts of Europe and the United States.
MDMA was first proposed for scheduling by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in July 1984 and was classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the U.S. on 31 May 1985; on an emergency basis. No double blind studies had yet been conducted as to the efficacy of MDMA for psychotherapy.
Negative side effects increase with higher doses and frequent use.
MDMA rapidly builds tolerance, depletes serotoninA monoamine neurotransmitter, biochemically derived from tryptophan, that is primarily found in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, platelets, and central nervous system (CNS) of humans and animals. It is a well-known contributor to feelings of well-being. and compounds neurotoxicity issues. Look for other drugs and avoid using MDMA more than once every few months.
Ecstasy tablets are notoriously impure, often containing chemicals other than MDMA. Check out EcstasyData and Pill Reports for pill testing results. Buy a Test Kit!
In rare cases MDMA can cause seizures, overheating, hypothermia, dehydration or water poisoning. It is important to keep an eye on body temperature and hydration while under the effects of MDMA.
There are some studies which suggest that long-term overuse and abuse of MDMA can cause or increase depression.
MDMA can cause Serotonin Syndrome when combined with MAOIs. Refer to Drug combinations for more information.
SSRIs and SNRIs block most effects of MDMA.
The neurotoxicity is well established, but studies are largely on mice and rats with higher dosages than humans tend to use.
There is an excellent run through of the pharmacodynamics of MDMA neurotoxicity here.
Overall what we know is that the neurotoxicity scales with dose, and is likely to do so exponentially as the body is caused to overheat more and has less anitoxidants to deal with metabolites.
We don't have any quantitative estimates about damage from normal human doses because it would not be ethical to dose people repeatedly just to see how much it damages them, and it's very hard to gather data from regular users because of the huge number of variables like alcohol and cannabis use, sleep deprivation, environment of MDMA use etc.
We know that long term users are not mentally impaired but those *abusing* the drug do show a reduced ability to enjoy it and suffer a more intense comedown, indicating that there is something going on at higher doses.
Another discussion about MDMA neurotoxicity can be found here.
The 84% claims are based around either a poor understanding of the science or are a deliberate attempt to pass off inferior product as high quality.
You should read this discussion, but basically if anyone claims their MDMA is 84% pure then they have performed no analysis at all and should not be trusted.
With almost all, the name is an abbreviation for Drug.salt. In the case of MDMA, it is MDMA.HCl, amphetamine is usually amphetamine.H2SO4 and LSD is LSD.tartrate. Because these forms are ubiquitous, nobody bothers to mention the second bit because it's irrelevant. All doses you see for MDMA are referring to the HCl salt, which means that MDMA which is sold as "the purest you can get, 84%", is treated as 100% pure.
The reason sellers do this is because they usually don't have very pure MDMA, and they want people to make the mistake you have made and take more to account for crappy product. It is dishonest, confusing and misleading and if you have a choice you should avoid this vendor.
MDMA is generally synthesised from naturally occurring safrole, extracted from the sassafras tree, making it a semi-synthetic drug.