SERIES: DRUGS UNCOVERED: THE FACTS: ECSTACY

MDMA stands for 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine. Its root is
safrole, a liquid extracted from the root or fruits of the sassafras plant.

Ecstasy is a synthetic, psychoactive drug, which floods serotonin
into the brain inducing relaxed euphoria. Sounds and colours
intensify, the pupils dilate and sometimes teeth grind involuntarily.

An ecstasy pill takes about 20-40 minutes to take effect. Effects
peak after about an hour and begin to fade after around three-to-five
hours, followed by a comedown characterised by fatigue and, on rare
occasions, a short depression.

Some researchers believe ecstasy's empathetic effects may be the
result of the release of oxytocin, a hormone usually associated with
orgasm and childbirth.

Today ecstasy is used by 1.2 per cent of 16-to-59-year-olds in the UK

Taking ecstasy in hot clubs, where users dance for hours, can cause
dehydration. Conversely, drinking too much water can cause
hyponatremia - the blood is so diluted with water that the brain swells.

The average cost of a single pill, which contains around 120mg of
MDMA, is UKP 5.

Only 27 people on average die each year through ecstasy use.

MDMA was first made by the German Merck pharmaceutical company and
was patented by Dr Anton Kollisch in 1912. Merck, however, was
running low on funds and research on the drug ground to a halt.