Ecstasy pictures report that MDMA was first made in 1914 as a drug to reduce appetite. In the 1980's, it was trialed as a drug to assist psychotherapy. Shortly after the medical trials it became popular in the dance club scene around the world. Ecstasy gained national attention when it was the drug of choice at club parties, called "raves." Ecstasy is a stimulant drug with some effects similar to hallucinogens. Stimulants speed up the activity in the brain. A hallucination is seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or touching things that do not exist. In a survey taken in 2005, 3.0% of 12th graders, 2.6% of 10th graders, and 1.7% of 8th graders reported that they had used MDMA at least once within the year.
As shown in ecstasy pictures, ecstasy tablets are available in various colors and shapes. They generally are imprinted with some type of logo. Popular logos include smiley faces, clover leaves, cartoon characters, and symbols associated with commercial brands such as Mitsubishi, Nike, and Mercedes. The drug that is sold by dealers on the street or in venues is often made in "backyard labs," where there is no quality control and “dealers” are out to make money. The last thing that dealers are concerned about is your health and safety. Ecstasy pictures point out that it is difficult to know exactly what chemicals are in the tablets or capsules one consumes. For those who choose to use this drug, the risk of getting sick or overdosing is great because the strength of the drug differs from one tablet to the next.
Ecstasy pictures note that this drug can affect people in different ways. It depends on how much of the drug the person takes, what strength it is, how their body reacts to it, whether people are used to taking it, what mood they are in beforehand, where they are, and whether it is taken with other drugs (such as alcohol). Overdoses on ecstasy often occur and some people have even died from the effects of ecstasy.
Some users say they take ecstasy because it lowers their inhibitions and relaxes them. Unlike the drug LSD, ecstasy in low doses does not cause people to hallucinate. Ecstasy pictures show that this drug is also said to increase awareness and feelings of pleasure and to give people energy. However, some people report side effects after taking ecstasy such as headaches, chills, eye twitching, jaw clenching, blurred vision and nausea. Higher doses of ecstasy can cause dehydration, hyperthermia, and seizures. Ecstasy pictures point out that this dangerous drug has sent thousands of people to the emergency room.
Ecstasy pictures show that most ecstasy users are teenagers or young adults. More than 10 percent of high school seniors have tried ecstasy at least once, and more than 2 percent have used the drug in the past month, according to the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Survey. Ecstasy users typically come from middle- and upper-class households. Ecstasy is fairly inexpensive on the streets. The average retail price of an ecstasy tablet is between $20 and $30 making it attractive and accessible to younger users.
Data suggests that ecstasy may be toxic to the brain. Dr. George Ricaurte, an associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University, analyzed brain scans of people who had used ecstasy. Ecstasy pictures note that the study included people who had used ecstasy an average of 200 times over five years. Although the behavior of these people appeared normal, brain scans showed that the drug had damaged their brains. In fact, those who used the drug more often had more brain damage than less frequent users. Moreover, memory tests of people who have taken ecstasy as compared to non-drug users have shown that the ecstasy users had lower scores.