MDMA Ecstasy Fact Sheet Office of Justice Programs

Dr. Hoffman is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of AddictionHelp.com and ensures the website’s medical content and messaging quality. The LGBTQ+ community, particularly the gay community, has historically been early adopters of club drugs like ecstasy. These mixtures can become dangerous as ecstasy can affect the person’s judgment, making them less aware of how much of another substance they’ve consumed.

Dextrorphan was believed to prevent the effects of serotonin depletion by MDMA in the striatum, hippocampus, and cortex (Finnegan et al., 1989). The study found that, compared to the nonusers, heavy MDMA users had significant impairments in visual and verbal memory. As had been found in the brain imaging study, MDMA’s harmful effects were dose-related�the more MDMA people used, the greater difficulty they had in recalling what they had seen and heard during testing. Research suggests MDMA is potentially addictive, although more research is needed. Taking an adulterated drug can lead to unexpected and unwelcome side effects and may increase its potential health risks. Over the past decade, illegally made opioids like fentanyl have been increasingly found in the drug supply, and have contributed to a dramatic rise in drug overdose deaths in the United States.

Getting Help for Ecstasy Addiction

Regarding the long-term effects of MDMA exposure, it was proven that MDMA could reduce the level of serotonin in the cerebrospinal fluid of rats (Mueller et al., 2009; Mustafa et al., 2018). However, some researchers have suggested that MDMA may be able to cause a long-term 5-HT down-regulation without causing structural damage to serotonin neurons (Kish, 2002). Unfortunately, there is still an ongoing debate on whether the deficit of serotonin reflects damage to the neurons (Baumann, Wang & Rothman, 2007). However, in a clinical study, the brain imaging studies on MDMA users had been drug-free for 20 weeks or longer have not revealed less serotonin transporter binding levels in the brain (Buchert et al., 2003). Brain imaging studies on humans have provided evidence regarding the altered serotonergic functioning in recreational ecstasy users.

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• Not all the effects are predictable because pure Ecstasy can contain other unwanted drugs or chemicals.
• It is typically sold illicitly as colorful tablets with imprinted logos, capsules, powder, or liquid.
• In future studies, the potential therapeutic substances, either synthetic or natural that can attenuate the long-term effects of MDMA through those involved mechanisms should be highly considered.

At the core of treatment is therapy; many ecstasy addicts succeed with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which focuses on identifying unhealthy thought patterns that lead to drug use. Ecstasy use between men and women is pretty even, with a slightly increased rate in men than women. However, there’s evidence that ecstasy may be more dangerous for women than men. Ecstasy sold on the street is seldom pure MDMA and often gets mixed with other drugs like cocaine, ketamine, and amphetamines. The biggest dangers of ecstasy overdose are potential dehydration, heat stroke, and hyperthermia.

• Statistics on its abuse, health risks, and overdose potential are key to harm prevention.
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• Previous PET studies with baboons also produced images indicating MDMA had induced long-term reductions in the number of serotonin transporters.
• A NIDA-supported study has provided the first direct evidence that chronic use of MDMA, popularly known as “ecstasy,” causes brain damage in people.
• However, there are also some common adverse effects, some severe risks, and possible long-term damage.

What is the percentage of people who have tried ecstasy at least once in their lives?

The increased energy for doing their basic life activities makes MDMA as a drug of choice. However, these effects are satisfactorily detrimental to our body systems, particularly neuronal cells. Therefore, it requires more advanced studies on the effects of MDMA on brain damage and behavior as well as the treatments for MDMA disorders. Most of the recent studies and suggestions regarding the targeted treatment for MDMA abuse have focused on attenuating the neurotoxicity and neurotransmitters excitotoxicity in the brain. In future studies, the potential therapeutic substances, either synthetic or natural that can attenuate the long-term effects of MDMA through those involved mechanisms should be highly considered.

Therefore, more extensive studies are needed in order to reveal strong evidence about the exact mechanism of MDMA toxicities. Along with the challenges caused by opiates, the increasing number of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) users and related disorders are unnoticed, especially for MDMA. Some countries, such as Norway, Germany, and Canada have classified it as Schedule I drugs, which is illegal to buy or possess without a license. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2004) reported that more than 11 million people have tried MDMA at least once in their lives (NIDA, 2006).

If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, getting help is just a phone call away, or consider trying therapy online with BetterHelp. According to SAMSHA, in 2021, 7.1% or 2.4 million young adults aged 18 to 25 used ecstasy. The highest percentage of ecstasy use is among young adults aged 18 to 25 (7.1% or 2.4 million people).

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Accordingly, this study reviewed the neurotoxic effects of MDMA on neuronal brain activity and MDMA targets, such as receptors and neurotransmitter systems that alter the brain and body functions. The new findings are always welcomed for the sake of people and the community, especially in addiction. However, “that’s the concern, and it’s certainly the most obvious basis for the memory problems that some MDMA users have developed,” Dr. Ricaurte says.

MDMA-treated rats also displayed a deficit in recognition memory in the novel recognition test, which was believed to occur due to the damage to dopamine neurons (Cadoni et al., 2017). Hence, the effects of MDMA on memory are seen through the alterations in dopaminergic as well as the disruption of NMDA receptors. Thus, the main focus of the researchers for future studies should be on the treatment through these targeted areas. “The real question in all imaging studies is what these changes mean when it comes to functional consequences,” says NIDA’s Dr. Frascella. In this study, researchers administered several standardized memory tests to 24 MDMA users who had not used the drug for at least 2 weeks and 24 people who had never used the drug. In summary, people, especially young people, choose MDMA as their drug of choice due to its stimulating effects.

Ecstasy Addiction Statistics by Race

Serotonin also triggers the release of other hormones that can cause feelings of attraction and intimacy. As a result, people may become more affectionate than usual and feel a connection with strangers. MDMA can also be addictive, and research suggests that long-term thinking problems may develop in some people who use it.

Research varies as to ecstasy’s risk of addiction or even whether it is addictive at all. However, there are also some common adverse effects, some severe risks, and possible long-term damage. These effects may be due to MDMA alone or the combination of MDMA use with other drugs. The effects last for an average of 3 hours, but people who take a moderate amount may experience withdrawal side effects for a week after.

McCann, U.D.; Szabo, Z.; Scheffel, U.; Dannals, R.F.; and Ricaurte, G.A. what are the effects of mdma national institute on drug abuse nida Positron emission tomographic evidence of toxic effect of MDMA (“ecstasy”) on brain serotonin neurons in human beings. In people who had used MDMA, the PET images showed significant reductions in the number of serotonin transporters, the sites on neuron surfaces that reabsorb serotonin from the space between cells after it has completed its work. The lasting reduction of serotonin transporters occurred throughout the brain, and people who had used MDMA more often lost more serotonin transporters than those who had used the drug less. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is the largest supporter of the world’s research on substance use and addiction.

However, to be diagnosed with a substance use disorder, a person must meet specific diagnostic criteria for continued substance use despite negative consequences. Furthermore, ketoprofen treatment has reduced the decreased number of parvalbumin-positive GABA interneurons in the DG of the hippocampus upon repeated MDMA administrations. However, the ketoprofen, unfortunately, did not prevent the 5-HT depletion in the hippocampus (Anneken et al., 2013).

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Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov. Hence, MDMA causes neurotoxicity through different mechanisms; either by acting directly on the neuronal brain activity or by other indirect pathways. Future studies regarding the treatment of the detrimental effects caused by MDMA should focus on the compounds that have the healing properties towards the abnormal neurotransmitter regulations and the damaged neurons.

Jessica graduated from the University of South Florida (USF) with an English degree and combines her writing expertise and passion for helping others to deliver reliable information to those impacted by addiction. Informed by her personal journey to recovery and support of loved ones in sobriety, Jessica’s empathetic and authentic approach resonates deeply with the Addiction Help community. You can use SAMHSA’s online treatment locator to find a treatment facility or addiction specialist who can discuss your options with you.