This . . . is ecstasy?

ECSTASY AND ILLEGAL DRUG DESIGN -- A NEW CONCEPT IN DRUG USE by Alasdair J. M. Forsyth, Centre for Research on Drug Misuse, Glasgow, University of Glasgow, UK. This article comprises part of the author's PhD thesis.

Background

Ever since a drug called 'Ecstasy' first appeared in Scotland there has been much speculation about what this substance actually is. Initial reports in the media incorrectly suggested that Ecstasy was not a single chemical, but a mixture of drugs. Ecstasy was introduced to the Scottish public by the headline 'COCKTAILS OF DEATH. Warning on killer drug mix' (page 1, Evening Times, 8 December 1987).[. . . . ] Brand names of illegal products are uncontrolled by copyright and so may vary geographically, temporally or demographically. To date, reports from Ecstasy users about what they think the drug's contents and effects are have only been anecdotal.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

This article aims to highlight the great variety of forms of Ecstasy. Differences in users' beliefs about what Ecstasy contains and its effects are explored. It is also intended to identify some of the enormous number of brand names given to Ecstasy. It is intended then to make comparisons between popular brands of the drug and between different forms of Ecstasy over the user's career. This is done by using the self reports of Glasgow dance drug users. Details about over 300 individual forms of Ecstasy were provided by users. A physical description of each Ecstasy and its subjective effects were given by respondents.

The value of this article lies in that it will report what dance drug users think Ecstasy is. [. . . . ]

THE EVOLUTION OF ECSTASY

The drug known as Ecstasy first came to prominence in the USA during the early 1980s. Ecstasy was a name given to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA by a Los Angeles manufacturer of this, then still legal, drug. MDMA is a member of large family of psychoactive drugs known as the phenethylamines (Shulgin and Shulgin, 1991). MDMA was named 'Ecstasy' as a marketing ploy (Eisner, 1989). The illicit producer, who first used the term, said he preferred the name 'empathy', as this word was more fitting with the drug's effects. He believed that the name Ecstasy would sell better than empathy. The name did and the media also 'bought' the story. [. . . . ]

Since 1985 interest in Ecstasy use has grown in the UK compared with the USA. In the 'rave' ( dance drug) scene a whole new subculture of Ecstasy brand names and their alleged contents has grown up. Rather than simply being known as MDMA (or its chemical cousins, MDEA and MDA), there has been much speculation about what these Ecstasy brands contain. Such speculation has included the following: these brands contain no MDMA; dealers pUt heroin in them to get people addicted; they are complete fakes such as dog worming or fish tank deoxygenating tablets; what is sold as Ecstasy is real Iy a cocktail of different drugs. Such speculation, at all levels of interest, was certainly apparent in Glasgow at the time of this study.

[. . . . ] it became clear that Ecstasy existed in a variety of forms that were being marketed differently.

The sample had a mean age of 24 years (range 14-44) and was 62% male. [. . . . ] Of the 135 people interviewed 123 (91%) admitted to having used Ecstasy at least once. The data presented here come from these 123 Ecstasy users and four non-users of Ecstasy who were able to describe at least one Ecstasy they had encountered on the dance scene.

[. . . . ] TABLE 1: Dance drug users and other drug samples compared

[. . . . There is much, much more information here. ]

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