Ecstasy Essay

They thought it would be a useful drug to aide individuals in opening up to counselors and being able to find a state of mutual understanding. Although the drug was meant for psychotherapy use, it found its way into the drug scene (Kuhn, Swartzwelder, and Wilson 81). Ecstasy comes in a tablet form and is usually swallowed or crushed up and snorted. This drug is commonly found at rave parties and other dance parties. It is used to enhance the mood among the party members.

Kemsley, Jyllian. "Psychedelic Compounds like Ecstasy May Be Good for More than Just a High." CEN RSS. Chemical & Engineering, 28 Mar. 2016. Web. 10 May 2016.

Socially it can affect a person because if taking illegally through an addiction one may lose friends because of their dependence. Some may even be stealing the drug from a friend or someone they know that is prescribed Adderall. It as can also affect a person in that they may be unusually talkative or even more irritable or agitated than usual as an effect of Adderall. Another side effect that could potentially affect one’s social behavior is a feeling of impotence or a loss of interest in sex. It can also affect a person mentally and psychologically through various side effects of confusion, hallucinations, showing odd behavior, or experiencing tremors. Additionally, some emotional side-effects may include feelings of extreme sadness or happiness, or

developed several chemical compounds with aspirations to succeed in the pharmaceutical market. They ended up developing MDMA, but it was not used to treat anxiety until the 1970’s (Cromer, 2013). It did not come under harsh scrutiny by the FDA until the 1980’s due to the growing recreational usage in society (Sessa and Nutt, 2014). This obviously lead to a significant halt in researching this drug, but some clinical trials were able to succeed. However, they had inconclusive results and they still do today. Now that science has come such a long way, scientists are able to better study how the drug works and the long and short-term effects it can have on those taking the drug. Christian, Grey, and Sorg claim that the effects of MDMA set in approximately 20 minutes after ingestion and its effects can last from four to six hours (Christian, Grey, and Sorg, 2015). A psychologist or team of psychologists will administer the drug to the patient and listen to them as they talk about their problems. They will generally not direct the conversation, but allow the patient to direct it and focus on the point of trauma when they feel comfortable and ready. This drug causes an increase in the production of serotonin in the brain, a chemical that is responsible for making people feel content and extremely happy (Cromer, 2013). These feelings of happiness and bliss will then lead the patient to feel more comfortable with their

Meaning out of all the drugs that are out there, Molly has a high potential for abuse. Molly is also classified as a mild hallucinogen and a psychedelic. Meaning that when someone is high on molly, they would hallucinate and start to see or hear things that are not really there. When Molly is taken, it acts as a central nervous system stimulant. The MDA absorbed through the body destroys serotonin-producing neurons in your body. These neurons role in your body is to regulate aggression, mood, sexual activity, sleep, and sensitivity to pain. This is why when people are high off of Molly, they have trippy dreams and feel unstoppable. Molly can be snorted, injected, but is mostly found in pill form. When in the form of a pill, they come in many different colors with pictures on the top to look

Some of your sense organs are intensified, while others, like your vision, are dulled. In serotoninergic neurons, Ecstasy targets the serotonin reuptake pumps at the end of the axon. Normally, when the dendrite of the neuron tells the cell body to produce more serotonin, it travels all the way through to the synapse, where the serotonin chemically signals the serotonin receptors on the next dendrite. Then, it is taken back with the reuptake pumps. However, while on Ecstasy, your serotonin reuptake pumps are blocked, so more and more serotonin fills the synapse and is accepted; thus the feeling of extreme euphoria while on the drug.

But because they have a longer half-life and can rapidly cross the blood brain barrier, they are the choice of users. (Doweiko, 2014) Amphetamines and stimulants in general excite the CNS through stimulation of norepinephrine (Momaya, Fawal, & Estes, 2015), a neurotransmitter that helps, in conjunction with epinephrine to respond to the ?fight or flight? reaction to stress (Parse, 2015). Stimulants cause the release of norepinephrine from storage in sympathetic nerve endings. It then leads to the increase of arousal, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. (Momaya, Fawal, & Estes, 2015) When taken orally, the stimulant is absorbed through the lining of the small intestine. It then reaches the brain through the bloodstream and produces regional effects. That is, it will cause a neurotransmitter activity in one region, while shutting of another region. Stimulants also seem to have an effect to alter the dopamine neurotransmission system. (Doweiko, 2014) The system is instrumental for movement and plays a role in Parkinson?s Disease when shut off. It also involves our pleasure center (rewarding properties), thus which is why we reach a euphoric state with certain stimulants. (Dopamine Neurotransmitter, 2015) (Steinkellner, Freissmuth, Sitte, & Montgomery,

A Swiss chemist named Dr. Albert Hoffman first produced lysergic acid Diethylmide –or best known as LSD in 1938 (Dye, 1992, p. 2). Hoffman discovered the drug while trying to synthesize a new drug for the treatment of headaches. He obtained the lysergic acid from the parasitic fungus that grows on rye plants known as ergot. From the lysergic acid, he synthesized the compound LSD. He used the compound to test for its pain killing properties on laboratory animals. Being that appeared totally ineffective, the bottle of LSD was placed on a shelf and remained untouched for five years.

To begin, the researchers in this case wanted to see if ecstasy caused neurotoxic reactions within humans because there is a lot of evidence of that

An individual’s behavior and emotion becomes chemically altered often resulting in dependency, aggression, onset of diseases and poor judgement. This poses a dangerous threat to the neurotransmitters since they have multiple jobs in different parts of the brain. Drugs of abuse are able to exert influence over the brain reward pathway either by directly influencing the action of dopamine within the system, or by altering the activity of other neurotransmitters that exert a modulatory influence over this pathway. These drugs are often powerful and have been known to trigger schizophrenic behavior and can also cause a person to cease breathing, for example hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin are able to artificially stimulate the serotonin receptor (Sapolsky, 2005).

To understand MDMA popularity, it must first be understood the human physiological effects. Both psychedelic and stimulatory, effects may include colour, image and mood alterations, a yearning to dance, coupled with an increased level of energy and sexual arousal; depleting within four to six hours (Davison and Parrot, 1997; Ramsey, 2015). MDMA increases the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline within the central nervous system, coupling effects by hindering reuptake pathways; it is non-addictive compared with other popular narcotics (Downing, 1986;

Slide 8: Some household cleaning products are used in replacement of ecstasy. This drug comes in tablet form and is swallowed. The tablets come in different colours and range in size. They are often printed with a small picture or symbol. The effect of this drug can be felt in around 20 minutes but can last up to 6 hours. Some acute effects caused by Ecstasy are: Jaw clenching, Skin tingles, Muscle aches and pains, Nausea and Heat stroke.

You may begin hallucinating, and feel as if you are at loss of control. Anxiety, panic, loss of reality, irritability, and depression may also kick in. Ecstasy tends to increase the heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolism. LSD, on the other hand, distorts the way senses work and changes impressions of time and space. In the dissociative group, ketamine is a big part of this section.

Certain drugs have become very popular among teens at dance clubs, parties, raves, and other crowded social gatherings. These drugs are known as “club drugs”. The most commonly used substances amongst teens are MDMA (ecstasy, or molly), GHB, and Methamphetamine (meth). The effects of these different drugs vary. Stimulant drugs such as ecstasy and meth affects the hormone in your body, known as serotonin; which controls sleep cycles and the feeling of happiness. Teens often mix ecstasy tablets and alcohol together making the high even more “enjoyable” (Thompson, 2013). According to teens who have used meth, their sense of real-life is altered as a result of the hallucinations they see; which makes it difficult to determine what is actually going on (Tecson, 2011). The use of these stimulants can lead to a surplus in energy which can distort a person’s sense and perception to what is really happening (Thompson, 2013) On the contrary, depressants such as GHB—which is also known as the “date rape” drug, slows things down, providing a feeling of peace and relaxation throughout your body (MDMA, 2014). Though, the effect of the club drug depends strictly on the user. For example, if they are upset or have a sense of fear, it can lead to a bad trip. In this case, the effect of these drugs on teenagers is very powerful. These club drugs have an impact on the behaviour aspects of adolescents including increased hallucinations, risky sexual behaviour, and violent actions

Drugs are categorized into three different groups: stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens. Stimulants are psychoactive drugs that increase postsynaptic transmissions producing psychomotor arousals, which generally increases alertness, while depressants decrease postsynaptic transmissions, hence slowing down brain activity and relaxing the muscles. Hallucinogens interfere with the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and alter the person’s sensory perceptions. When inducing drugs, there are numerous effects that occur physiologically and simultaneously in the brain. The biggest effect is the drugs impact on certain neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, GABA ETC.), which is how the ‘high’ feeling arises and how addiction occurs.