Ecstasy, a drug medically termed as MDMA has created a huge stir among teenagers today. Ecstasy meaning extreme emotional excitement (Websters 167), has many eyes of speculation on it. From the drugs history, its components, the risks, the benefits, as well as why people seem to take it are all-important issues that need to be discussed. It's rapid popularity and quotas of being the "happy drug" can't all be true, this drugs deadly long-term effects need to be addressed.
             Although MDMA has been in the limelight since the 1980's, it's history has dated back to the start of the twentieth century(Holland 11). In an attempt to find new medication to stop bleeding; Merck, a German pharmacist, stumbled across the drug. Many rumors were formed that the drug was used as an appetite supressent, however the drug was never marketed for this purpose(Yew 1). When Merck patented MDMA in 1912, the drug was intended to see whether or not it could be used and if it could be useful for psychotherapeutic catalysts(Cohen 5).
             The drug was out of the spotlight for about 40 years and then re-appeared in the 1950's for experimental use on animals(Cohen 6). These studies were created to see how much of a dosage would kill animal such as a rat, dog, mice or rabbit(ibid). "The findings of this study demonstrated that MDMA, EA-1475 was one of the most toxic substances ever investigated"(ibid). According to Cohen, most of the studies on MDMA is to see the effect it has on brain neurotransmitter serotonin, which controls mood, sleep, sexual feeling, appetite and depression.
             MDMA is a man-made psychoactive drug that has a stimulant and hallucinogen properties to it. MDMA has many street names that include, Adam, XTC, hug, beans, love drug and the most common Ecstasy(NIDA 1). It has a very complex chemical structure and is known as "3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine"(ibid). As you can tell in th
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