Ecstasy Addiction Treatment Center

What is Ecstasy?

The main active ingredient in ecstasy is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as MDMA (the acronym stands for three molecules of Methylene Dioxy and four molecules of Meth Amphetamine). The creators of the drug initially synthesized and patented it in Germany as an appetite suppressant in 1912. Professionals are investigating it as a therapeutic tool in its pure form to help the terminally ill and those with PTSD. However, since then, governments worldwide have outlawed it. Ecstasy drug statistics show a dark side to illegal, unsupervised use. Many samples taken by the DEA contain little to none of the active ingredients at all. Manufacturers often mix other substances, including drugs like amphetamine and cocaine, when making a batch, the street version is doubly dangerous.

It’s both a stimulant and a hallucinogen. It’s accessible on college campuses as well as on the club and music festival scene. The ecstasy drug classification is as a Schedule I substance. That means that there’s a high potential for abuse and no medical use despite some perceived benefit when used in small amounts during psychotherapy.

What Does Ecstasy Look Like?

Ecstasy is more of a marketing term than a realistic description of this MDMA-based drug. The most common form of ecstasy drug is a colorful little pill that looks a lot like candy that’s stamped with imprints of animals, symbols, or cartoon characters. In this form, there are often hazardous drugs added to the mix. In some forms, it’s called Molly, which is short for “molecular.” Molly is a pure white powder that’s snorted, packed into capsules, or dissolved in liquids like water or alcohol. There’s a solution of liquid ecstasy that contains GHB, which you can find in drain cleaners and floor strippers. If you recognize this description, discover our ecstasy addiction treatment program in Jacksonville, FL.

Ecstasy Facts and Statistics

Despite the sometimes colorful look and reputation as a sex-enhancing drug, ecstasy drug statistics are startling. While we estimate deaths attributed to the pure forms of the drug at 20 per year, that doesn’t account for the death toll for people taking another substance disguised as ecstasy. Most cases of MDMA-related death are not due to overdose. Medical treatment is usually related to accidental injuries or dangerously high body temperatures associated with overheating on dance floors and at music festivals. Emergency room visits for ecstasy-related injuries or symptoms numbered about 22,849 at their peak in 2009, which was more than double the reported 10,227 in 2004. Hospitalizations due to attempted suicide while under the influence of ecstasy averaged 806 between 2004 and 2009.

Ecstasy users run the risk of ingesting any number of other drugs or potentially harmful substances. Of the samples tested after the normal street raid, only 39 percent contained pure 3,4-ecstasy. Forty-six percent contained drugs and elements other than MDMA, and 15 percent included a mixture of ecstasy and other drugs. Some others contain a similar substance called MDA, which contains methylenedioxyamphetamine and goes by the street name “Sally.” Sally is closer in effect to LSD than methamphetamine. This drug was a cough suppressant in 1956 and predated ecstasy as the original “Love Drug.”

Much of the ecstasy and MDMA-packed capsules being sold today as molly are bath salts, a very deadly psychoactive, synthetic cathinone. A chemically similar substance being passed off as ecstasy is called Bromo-DragonFLY. However, this drug is much stronger than ecstasy. A typical dose administered in the same amount as one dose of ecstasy is 1,000 times stronger than the usual dosage of Bromo-DragonFLY.

Who Uses Ecstasy

Since it first appeared on the scene in the late 1970s, ecstasy has been a prevalent club drug at raves, concerts, and dance clubs. The use of the drug rose in use during the 80s and 90s. It continues to be very popular in the music and party scene. People in the gay community, on college campuses, and among teenagers are the most frequent users. About 65 percent of people who attend raves reported using ecstasy.

On average, about 2.8 million people over the age of 12 use ecstasy each year, including approximately 4.7 percent of students from 8th – 12th grade in 2018. Demographically, the typical ecstasy user is a white male between the ages of 18 and 24.

Ecstasy vs. Molly

Due to the number of other substances masquerading as methylenedioxy-methamphetamine, the ecstasy vs. Molly debate may be irrelevant. Technically, Molly is the street name for pure 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Ecstasy is a slang term for a chemically similar hallucinogen that contains methylenedioxy-methamphetamine or MDA.

In its pure form, the drug has a small number of harmful side-effects if taken infrequently in regulated doses. Ecstasy, on the other hand, can be a mixture of many substances that can be very dangerous to ingest. However, abusing any illegal drug has potentially harmful consequences. Our ecstasy addiction treatment center in Jacksonville, FL could save your life from the effects.

Is Ecstasy Dangerous?

Abusing ecstasy in any of its forms can lead to dependence and addiction. Pure 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine is safe for human consumption in small amounts for short periods. However, most of the ecstasy on the streets contains almost everything but the kitchen sink. Common additives are amphetamine, caffeine, cocaine, or even heroin, which kicks up the addiction and overdose potential. However, tested samples have also found rat poison, pet worming medications, and other substances.

Also, poisoning by dangerous substances and overdose is the danger of developing temporary, potentially deadly, health problems. Usually, people use ecstasy in a club or party setting where dancing all night is part of the scene. The result is many cases of people going to the hospital for conditions like dehydration, dangerously high body temperatures, and cardiovascular problems. When you mix the drug with alcohol or other drugs, you may miss these symptoms. This could result in seizures or death from not noticing warning signs and symptoms.

MDMA-based drugs can also interfere with medications like Viagra, medicines used to suppress HIV and antidepressants. Tolerance happens fast with habitual, recreational use, meaning that it takes more of the drug to achieve the desired effects. Long-term use can permanently affect brain function.

All of these factors make ecstasy a hazardous drug with the potential to kill.

If you have an addiction to ecstasy, you need help. Addiction can be treated, but it is incredibly challenging to defeat it alone. Come to Stepping Stone Recovery in Jacksonville. We can help you beat your addiction and create new coping methods. Among our treatment methods, we include:

• Group therapy
• Individual therapy
• Addiction treatment therapy

Don’t wait to get treatment for your addiction. Contact the ecstasy addiction treatment program in Jacksonville, FL, today. One phone call can change your life.