Also called the love drug, the ecstasy is a psychoactive drug, known chemically as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and abbreviated as MDMA. Ecstasy was produced by a pharmaceutical company in the year 1914 with the intention of being used as an appetite suppressant, but it was never used for this purpose. In the 1960s, it began to be used by psychotherapists to lift the spirits of patients; and in the 70s it started to be consumed recreationally, being disseminated mainly among university students. The use of this drug is prohibited in several countries, including Brazil.
Although this mode of use is no longer used, ecstasy can be injected intravenously. Currently, illegal use of ecstasy has been carried out in the form of oral pills.
The effect of ecstasy can last an average of eight hours, but this varies by body. In people who have greater amounts of metabolizing enzymes, the effect of ecstasy may last for a shorter time. As the body's enzymes metabolize toxins, they also produce active metabolites that continue to exert psychoactive activity, as if it were the drug itself, but with not very pleasant effects, which can last for a few more hours.
Users of this drug experience increased alertness, greater sexual interest, a sense of well-being, great physical and mental capacity, euphoria and increased socialization and extroversion.
After using the drug, some unwanted effects occur, such as increased muscle tension and motor activity, increased temperature body, stiffness and pain in the muscles of the lower limbs and lumbar spine, headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, vision blurry, dry mouth, insomnia, large blood pressure fluctuations, hallucinations, agitation, anxiety, panic attacks and brief episodes of psychosis. Increased alertness can lead to hyperactivity and brain drain. In the days following drug use, the user may become depressed, with difficulty concentrating, anxious and fatigued.
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Long-term use of ecstasy causes a lot of damage to health. Excess serotonin in the synaptic cleft caused by drug use causes irreversible nerve cell damage. These cells, when injured, have their function compromised, and only recover when other neurons make up for the lost function.
Studies carried out in human users of this drug prove the loss of serotoninergic activity, which leads its user to present mental and behavioral disorders such as memory difficulties, both verbal and visual, difficulty making decisions, seizures. panic, deep depression, paranoia, hallucinations, depersonalization, impulsivity, loss of self-control and sudden death from collapse cardiovascular.
The use of ecstasy can damage the liver, which becomes soft and enlarged, with a tendency to bleed. Depending on the degree of toxicity, the condition evolves into fulminant hepatitis, which can cause death if there is no liver transplant.
In the heart, accelerated heart rhythms and increased blood pressure can cause some blood vessels to rupture, causing bleeding.
The use of ecstasy linked to intense physical activity (dancing for several hours) can cause an increase in body temperature and consequent internal bleeding, which can lead to death. The increase in body temperature has some symptoms such as disorientation, stop perspiring, dizziness, headaches, fatigue, cramps and fainting.
There are still no studies that prove that ecstasy causes physical dependence, but we cannot say that this will not happen either.
Paula Louredo
Graduated in Biology
