Ecstasy (MDMA) - Are There Any Medical Reasons for Taking This Substance?

Are There Any Medical Reasons for Taking This Substance?

The FDA puts all prescription medications through thorough tests to make sure the substances are safe, that they work on the condition for which they are prescribed, and that they have no long-term negative side effects. The scientific research done on ecstasy to date indicates that it does cause brain damage, memory loss, and long-lasting mood disorders. Currently ecstasy cannot be prescribed by doctors, and it is not produced by legitimate pharmaceutical companies.

That being said, the FDA has approved small studies of ecstasy use. One involves people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a mental illness that can occur after one experiences or witnesses life-threatening events, such as serious accidents, violent assaults, or terrorist attacks. Symptoms of PTSD include reliving the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, having problems sleeping, and feeling detached from reality. Those who suffer from PTSD tend to repress memories of the dangerous incident that provoked the disease. It is thought that ecstasy might help patients relive the trauma to reduce anxiety about it. The study of ecstasy for use in PTSD patients was in preliminary stages in 2005.

The FDA has also approved a trial study of ecstasy use in terminally ill cancer patients who have been given only a short time to live. In this case, it is thought that the drug will ease the patient's anxiety about death, while also increasing the patient's ability to talk openly with grieving family members. This study highlights the dangers of casual ecstasy use at parties. Since those being given ecstasy in the study are going to die within weeks or months, the worries of long-term brain damage do not exist.

Ecstasy Chronology

Ecstasy was created in the early 1900s, but it is one of the newer drugs of abuse in the United States. Here is a brief look at ecstasy's history.

1910     German scientists first synthesize MDMA while studying amphetamines. The Merck company patents the drug in 1914.

1953     The U.S. Army Office of Strategic Services (OSS) experiments with MDMA for possible use in chemical warfare.

1965     Alexander T. "Sasha" Shulgin (1925—) synthesizes MDMA and experiments with it himself. Shulgin feels the drug could have uses in the mental health field.

1985     Faced with growing recreational use and tests indicating that the drug causes brain damage in animals, the U.S. government adds ecstasy to the Schedule I list of controlled substances.

2000     U.S. customs agents seize 9.3 million doses of ecstasy from smugglers and dealers.

2004     Monitoring the Future researchers note a decline in ecstasy use among eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders in the United States.

2005     Australian authorities seize approximately 5 million ecstasy tablets in the biggest MDMA drug bust to that date.

Neither of these studies have resulted in the classification of ecstasy as a drug with medical benefits.