Author: James Anderson

Ecstasy: What to Know

There are currently no FDA-approved medications to treat ecstasy addiction. Twelve-step recovery programs and support groups can also be helpful, particularly when used in conjunction with cognitive behavioral interventions. Another significant danger is the fact that people who take ecstasy don’t really know what they are actually ingesting. It is important to note, however, that this research is still in the early stages.

Results of a Phase 3 trial found that 88% of participants who received MDMA-assisted therapy experienced a meaningful reduction in PTSD symptoms, with 67% no longer qualifying for a PTSD diagnosis after treatment. Though known today mainly as a recreational drug, ecstasy has been used off-label in medical contexts. Ecstasy was explored as a therapeutic drug in the 1970s, as some psychotherapists believed it opened people up and enhanced their potential for empathy and understanding of one another. There is never a good time to take an illegal substance or misuse it. When it comes to the amount of MDMA in a tablet of ecstasy, you never know how much or how little of the drug there is and how you will react to it. If you do use it, take precautions to avoid any accidents such as an overdose.

1. It takes about 45 minutes or longer to feel the effects of ecstasy.
2. All substituted phenethylamine drugs build upon the parent compound phenethylamine, which consists of a phenyl ring bound to an amino group (NH2) through a 2-carbon ethyl chain.
3. If you do use it, take precautions to avoid any accidents such as an overdose.
4. Interestingly, some studies have shown that certain plants which contain high levels of nicotine, morphine, and cocaine have developed these levels through time in order to be eaten by herbivores less.
5. It is chemically similar to both stimulants and hallucinogens, producing feelings of increased energy, pleasure, emotional warmth, and distorted sensory and time perception.
6. Unless the seller has deliberately mis-labeled the oil as something unregulated, US Customs will notice your little purchase as it enters the US and pass on the information to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Interestingly, some studies have shown that certain plants which contain high levels of nicotine, morphine, and cocaine have developed these levels through time in order to be eaten by herbivores less. Anyway, concerning human species, using psychoactive substances has a very long history. There is evidence for use of betel nut in Timor, which dates some 13,000 years back, which is still in the use today, just to name one example. Also, opium, mushrooms, marijuana, nicotine, and many other plants containing psychoactive substances have been found on many prehistoric archaeological sites throughout the world. There is also some evidence from 30- to 48,000-year-old specimens from El Sidrón cave in Spain that Neanderthals have also been using some painkillers and plants with psychoactive substances.

Who First Manufactured MDMA?

In nearly 25% of the samples, the researchers were unable to identify what was actually in the tablets. Addiction is defined by the American Society of Addiction Medicine as continued use despite harmful consequences. Reports also suggest that people who use ecstasy exhibit such symptoms as well as other markers of addiction including tolerance, drug cravings, and withdrawal. One study found that the use of medical MDMA in autistic adults with social anxiety disorder helped reduce social anxiety symptoms such as perceived social threat, self-criticism, and shame. It’s important to know that the effects of ecstasy will be different from person to person. Your health, weight, the amount you’ve taken, and other drugs used with ecstasy can all play a role.

Elevated levels of serotonin and dopamine also play a role in a drug being addictive due to an increase in impulsivity. People have reported experiencing withdrawal symptoms like fatigue and loss of concentration. The synthesis overviewed below, known as the Brightstar synthesis, involves the oxidation of safrole into a ketone (MDP2P), followed by reductive amination with methylamine and aluminum-mercury amalgam to yield MDMA. MDMA, or 3,4-Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine, is a semisynthetic entactogen with stimulating and euphoric properties. Similar to mescaline and 2C-B, it belongs to the family of substituted phenethylamines. All substituted phenethylamine drugs build upon the parent compound phenethylamine, which consists of a phenyl ring bound to an amino group (NH2) through a 2-carbon ethyl chain.

MDMA increases the release of serotonin and can inhibit its reuptake, leading to increased levels of the neurotransmitter in the brain during the MDMA high. In simple terms, once serotonin has been released and creates a biological effect, it is usually inactivated through a reuptake mechanism. MDMA temporarily blocks this process, so the quantity of serotonin circulating in the brain is significantly increased. MDMA was first synthesized by Merck, a German pharmaceutical company, back in 1912 as a medicine to control bleeding. 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 (Ecstasy) Abuse Research Report

If you want a good income source, stay in college and get a decent professional job. The solvent is distilled off, leaving the crude MDMA freebase in the flask. It could be further purified by vacuum distillation, but that seems unnecessary. This crude product is dissolved in 80 ml of dry isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol.)  Concentrated hydrochloric acid is added a drop at a time until the solution turns slightly acidic. After letting the solution sit (and perhaps cool in the freezer), the crystals that formed could be filtered off and dried.

Success (that is to say, a nice little load of gleaming MDMA crystals slowly drying on filter paper in your lab without attracting the attention of law enforcement) requires a lot of caution and/or a lot of luck. And that’s without even getting into the dangers of exposure from selling drugs, should a profit be your motivation. This will start the reaction that forms the mercury-aluminum amalgam. The foil will turn gray, then start to release bubbles of hydrogen gas. At this point there’s no turning back; the amalgam will completely decompose over time. That’s because, although aluminum does react readily, it tends to form aluminum oxide.

Rising recreational use

More research is needed to fully understand the effectiveness of medical MDMA. The medical use of MDMA is highly regulated and only administered by healthcare professionals in regulated settings. If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts while using ecstasy, call or text 988 (the national suicide hotline). If you choose to take ecstasy, use it with as much precaution as possible. Educate yourself and your friends about the safety tips for ecstasy use to reduce unwanted health problems. Concerns are especially high for those who are still in middle or high school as their brains are not fully developed.

Here we are dealing with illegal drugs to make by using legal ingredients. An easy way of purchase and growing makes marijuana and shrooms one of the easiest drugs to make and sell, if you wish. The takeaway point should be that getting the materials needed to run a drug lab can be a complicated, expensive process and a legal landmine. Even very smart, very well financed criminal organizations get caught now and then. For the average person (say, an enthusiastic young chem major) it can verge on a death wish.

While ecstasy was initially used primarily in nightclubs and raves, its use has now spread to a wider range of populations. According to a 2021 survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 0.8% of the U.S. population over the age of 12 reported using ecstasy in the previous 12 months. The chemical name for ecstasy is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).

MDMA also lifts the levels of other vital hormones in the brain, including oxytocin, which influences feelings of trust, empathy, and sexual desire. Collectively, these effects may account for the experience of increased trust and lowered defensiveness that many MDMA consumers report. In addition to firing up these fundamental neurotransmitters in the brain, MDMA also lowers activity in the amygdala, the region of the brain that kicks off fear and propels the “fight or flight” mechanism. These effects help to reduce conditioned fear and stress responses, which is why MDMA represents a powerful potential treatment for PTSD and anxiety disorders. 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.