THE HISTORY OF DRUG CALLED 'X'

When most people refer to Ecstasy - commonly known as "X" on the
street - they are most often referring to 3,4-methylenedioxy-
methamphetamine, or MDMA, a drug patented by Merck Pharmaceuticals in
Germany before World War I, but not tested on humans until the 1970s.

Chemically, it has structural similarities to both amphetamine and
mescaline, a hallucinogen.

Early on, some mental health experts called MDMA "penicillin for the
soul" because of its ability to get patients to drop defensive
barriers and increase intimacy and communication. Some felt it might
help treat everything from phobias to post-traumatic stress disorder.

But use among young people began to spread. In 1985, the Drug
Enforcement Administration ordered that MDMA be classified as an
illegal drug.

That did little to stop its spread on the black market. By the
mid-1990s, Ecstasy had become a popular club drug in Europe and the
United States and continued to find its way to other parts of the
world. It now sells for $20 to $35 a tablet in this country.

Experts say it is becoming more popular to prolong Ecstasy's effect by
"stacking" multiple doses in one night - or combining Ecstasy with
alcohol or other drugs.

Medical experts say this is a dangerous trend. They also are alarmed
by commonly used impure forms of Ecstasy that are laced with other
drugs - as well as look-alike pills - that are sometimes proving to be
fatal. Other problems have included dehydration and overheating,
especially at dance clubs, that also have led to death in some cases.