Ecstasy (MDMA) - What Is It Made Of?

What Is It Made Of?

Ecstasy's long, complicated scientific name refers to the various parts of its molecule. A particular group of atoms, in a specific arrangement, make up the ecstasy molecule. The drug begins with an N-methyl group of carbon and hydrogen atoms, attached to a nitrogen-containing compound. A methylene bridge attaches more carbon, with "dioxy," or two oxygen atoms as part of the bridge. The molecule becomes more complex with attachments of benzene, propane, another chain of carbon and hydrogen atoms, and an amino group. Drawn out on a blackboard, the molecule looks like an answer on an advanced chemistry test. In its pure form, ecstasy is a white powder. If the powder is light brown in color, it is impure.

The MDMA molecule does not occur in any living organism. It must be created in a laboratory by a process known as "synthesis." The process of creating ecstasy is fairly simple for chemists, and it is inexpensive to make. Pills that are manufactured for pennies apiece can sell in the illegal drug market for $15 to $40 per dose. A vast underground network of laboratories, most of them in Europe, supply a cunning army of smugglers who bring the pills to the United Kingdom and the United States.

Pills bought on the street might not contain pure ecstasy, however. Dosages vary widely. So do the ingredients in the illegal pills. Some might contain caffeine or dextromethorphan, others might have powerful hallucinogens. Occasionally the pills have nothing in them at all but sugar or aspirin. The old phrase "buyer beware" applies to any illegal drug purchased on the street.

Is It Really Ecstasy?

Since it is illegal, an ecstasy pill is not regulated for purity. Authorities have found pills being sold as ecstasy that have contained:

  • 4-bromo-2, 5-dimethoxyamphetamine (2C-B), a hallucinogen
  • caffeine, a stimulant
  • dextromethorphan, an active ingredient in cough syrup
  • lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), a hallucinogen
  • paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA), a hallucinogen
  • pseudoephedrine, an antihistamine (a drug that blocks the creation of "histamines," chemicals released in allergy attacks)

The dosage levels of ecstasy also vary from pill to pill. In March 2005, a healthy 24-year-old man in Glastonbury, United Kingdom, died of an ecstasy overdose. The local coroner blamed the death on "rogue tablets" containing high doses of the drug.