Author: Alex Thompson

What Are the Long-Term Effects of Taking MDMA?

Do your research, educate yourself, and reach out to local or virtual organizations that can provide support with addiction. At best, have at least one person who is going to be ecstasy-free during the session. Concerns are especially high for those who are still in middle or high school as their brains are not fully developed. A 2022 survey showed that 0.6% of eighth graders (13 years old) said they used ecstasy in the last year. Ecstasy is most popular among younger males, ranging from 18 to 25 years old. In a 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, it was shown that of those 12 years of age and older, almost 2.2 million people used ecstasy in the last 12 months.

As the effects begin to fade, people often take another dose of ecstasy to double the time it lasts. A person’s unique physical attributes and frequency of drug use can also affect how long it is detectable. BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor. Ecstasy gained popularity in nightclub scenes and at music concerts/festivals. However, nowadays, it is used by a broader range of people on different occasions.

Risks of Ecstasy

It is important to note, however, that this research is still in the early stages. 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).

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. Reaching out for help from friends and family can be a great way to gain support. If you communicate your problems about ecstasy and express the desire for help, you can avoid substance use disorders. When you begin to feel the effects of ecstasy like changes to the way you see the world around you, a familiar environment can provide you with a sense of security to know where you are.

1. With the right support and treatment, you can learn tools to change your habits.
2. Ecstasy users take the drug orally as a tablet, pill, or capsule.
3. Getting official approval for medical research using MDMA has been impossible until recently.
4. Elevated levels of serotonin and dopamine also play a role in a drug being addictive due to an increase in impulsivity.
5. Ecstasy tablets are often marked with a symbol, number, or word.

There are about a dozen ecstasy deaths per year in Australia though every week tens of thousands of Australians take the drug. 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.

MDMA (Ecstasy) Abuse Research Report

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. If you choose to take ecstasy, use it with as much precaution as possible.

According to the review, both animal and human studies found that MDMA can negatively affect the serotonergic systems in the brain. In 1985, the Drug Enforcement Administration placed MDMA on Schedule I, the list of strictly-banned drugs defined as having no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. People will continue to use drugs like ecstasy much like they continue to use alcohol. We have more chance of “nudging” people to less risky behaviours if the drug is even partly regulated.

The immediate impact of ecstasy begins within about 45 minutes of taking a dose. People typically experience an increased sense of well-being and emotional warmth. Other effects include feeling greater empathy toward others and enhanced sensory perception.

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a synthetic psychoactive drug first developed and patented by the German pharmaceutical company Merck in 1912. As MDMA moves toward wider medical approval, some experts predict the drug’s recreational popularity will also grow. As happened with cannabis, “MDMA recreational use might piggyback on medicalization,” said Russell Newcombe, an independent drug researcher in Liverpool, England. It won’t eliminate all risks, but will almost certainly reduce them. Unless we can agree on the basic issues and realistic options, sadly more young people will continue to die. Ecstasy is very different from and a much less dangerous drug than “ice”, the subject of prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement of a National Ice Action Plan on Sunday.

A large observational study from 2022 found that MDMA use was connected to a lower risk of depression, and they advise further study to see if this is a true association. According to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, roughly 2.2 million people reported using MDMA at least once over the past 12 months. Heavy MDMA use has been shown to cause long-term effects on serotonin production, but researchers are trying to learn if long-term positive benefits exist as well.

History of Ecstasy

Overall, research on the effects of chronic MDMA use is limited, and more studies in humans are needed to determine the long-term effects of this drug. In human studies, researchers found that MDMA use could cause changes in verbal, visual, and short-term memory, reasoning, and recognition. Chronic MDMA use may even occasionally cause conditions like psychosis ― though other psychiatric conditions arising from using MDMA are rare. Below, we’ll explore what the research says about the long-term effects of chronic MDMA use, both recreationally and medically.

Behavioral therapy teaches you skills to better manage the situations that trigger your need to use ecstasy. Even small doses of ecstasy can harm your mental, physical, or emotional well-being. On the other hand, ecstasy tablets come in different shapes, colors, and sizes. Below are the effects of ecstasy on physical health, behavior, psychology, and social life.

Is There Treatment for Ecstasy Addiction?

Many of these substances can have harmful effects, especially if you don’t know you’re taking them. Health experts will need to see a significant amount of research on the benefits and risks of MDMA use for health conditions before it could become a treatment option. A later review found that MDMA may also affect other areas of the brain outside of the serotonergic systems, such as the dopaminergic and GABAergic systems. Like serotonin, the neurotransmitters dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) also play a role in mood, pleasure, and more.

However, early research suggests that MDMA may become a potential treatment option for several mental health conditions in the future. Even though MDMA doesn’t necessarily have addictive properties like some other drugs, such as cocaine or methamphetamine, there’s still the potential for substance misuse. And chronic, heavy use of MDMA may even have long-term effects — especially on serotonin in the brain. No, people taking ecstasy are not taking stupid risks and they are definitely not playing Russian roulette – which carries a one in six chance of dying. But even when taking “street” ecstasy the chances of serious harm are still small, despite the inherent risks of consuming a black market product.