THE TRUTH ABOUT MDMA

Famously known as the happy pill, MDMA is fast becoming the drug of
choice for our generation. But the common myth that MDMA is a pure and
harmless drug is dead wrong. Sarah Del Giallo unravels the truth about
MDMA and finds out why scientists are saying what makes you happy can
be a hard pill to swallow.

It's Saturday night and 21-year-old Jake Swain slumps down against a
wall in the corner of his room. His hair is dishevelled, his pupils
are wide and jarring and his jaw is clenched. Less than 20 minutes ago
Swain swallowed MDMA, a drug that normally makes him laugh, dance and
feel confident. But tonight, he feels completely out of it.

He is weak and disoriented. The black keys of the keyboard beside him
appear to be jumping from one space to the next. MDMA, a drug Swain
claims is a cleaner and purer form of

Ecstasy, has left him feeling confused and drained of excitement.

The drug

Commonly known as ecstasy, MDMA has hit another boom in drug culture.
While the chemical was previously popular in the rave scene, it's
starting to pop up in mainstream nightclubs and more surprisingly, in
the systems of young professionals and university students.

So far this year the Toronto Police Service has seized approximately
40 per cent more MDMA compared to last year.

MDMA stands for methylenedioxymethamphetamine, and a large portion of
its chemical makeup is identical to meth. It is either taken orally or
snorted, and the average dose, between 100 and 125 mg, costs users
$10.

Drug researchers like Dr. Stephen Kish, a senior scientist and head of
the human neurochemical pathology laboratory

in the neuroscience department at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health (CAMH), believe people who use ecstasy moderately (about
twice a month) will suffer damage to their serotonin, a hormone that
controls mood. He said habitual users risk ruining their natural
ability to feel happiness.

"If we know that serotonin affects mood, and we know that ecstasy
damages serotonin neurons, we're going to have a group of ecstasy
users who will be developing depression," he said.

This puts users who believe the common myth that MDMA is a purer form
of ecstasy and therefore, less harmful to the brain, at risk. This
serious misconception is one of the reasons why MDMA is becoming so
popular and why it keeps people like Swain coming back for more.

The high

The effects of MDMA include mild euphoria, increased sociability,
self-confidence and

decreased fear, as well as increased body temperature and increased
blood pressure.

"It's amazing. You have no worries. You're just happy for a few
hours," said third-year information technology management student Amir

Najafi, 21. "The first time was like the happiest I've ever been, and
now I have to do more to get that happy."

Najafi takes MDMA every six or seven weeks. He gets his drugs from a
friend and trusts that it's pure.

Katelyn Mudry, a fourth-year graphic communications management
student, has been using MDMA since April and enjoys it because of the
energy boost it gives her. She can do things that she's usually too
exhausted for.

"I can run around and be loud and be funny.It allows me to be that
outgoing person that I want to be and that I know that I am," said
Mudry.

Like Swain, Mudry and Najafi believe MDMA and Ecstasy are different.
Najafi calls Ecstasy a garbage-filled form of MDMA. While Najafi has
heard that MDMA is bad for the brain, he prefers taking the drug more
than drinking.

"You're happier on MDMA. You have so much energy. You could go to a
club and just dance all night," he said. "Everyone likes to party, and
it's a party drug. After doing MDMA, drinking's not as fun."

The hangover

The MDMA hangover often includes an unhappy, unfriendly demeanor,
fatigue and slight cognitive issues like memory loss. It can last
between one and four days depending on the user.

Swain has been using MDMA in moderation for about two years and said
he feels energized when approaching the peak of his high. But
following the climax, his high crashes and everything feels calm.

"MDMA is like the fifth person at the party.

It feels like there's another friend there bringing everyone together.
And when you come down, it's like that friend has left," said Swain
who has experienced some bad hangovers after using the drug.

Mudry said the day after using MDMA she often feels very down and
uninterested. She recalls a comedown when she was furious with her
boyfriend although he'd done nothing wrong.

"You're depleting your brain of all the chemicals, the serotonin, that
makes you feel good," Mudry said.

Like many people who use the drug on a frequent basis, Swain isn't
entirely sure how MDMA actually works nor is he aware of its effects.

"I don't think anyone who I've done MDMA with has ever known what it
means. But I think that the scientific name makes it seem more pure
[than ecstasy]," he Swain.

But Kish said it makes no scientific sense that MDMA and ecstasy are
different.

The myths

By using hair sample analysis, Kish researches MDMA users and the
effects the drug has on the brain.

His studies have found that most MDMA users in the Toronto area don't
realize they're regularly taking meth because it's been mixed into
their MDMA pill or powder.

"You can find anything in an ecstasy tablet. You can find filler, you
can find cocaine, you can find methamphetamine," he said.

While scientists are not yet positive whether MDMA kills brain cells,
they know that it affects serotonin, and that when combined with meth,
causes a slight thinning of the cerebral cortex, the exterior layer of
the brain.

"The reputation that MDMA has and the circumstance in which it's used
bring the appearance that there's less harm involved. That brings us
back to the argument that you don't know exactly what you're getting.
That's the big risk with MDMA," said Staff Sergeant John Babiar of the
Toronto Police.

"It's produced in a [drug lab] and unlike pharmaceuticals, there's no
control."

The police have their evidence analyzed by Health Canada. Babiar said
about half of the pills tested are found to contain other substances.
Meth, PCP, MDA, and Ketamine are among some of the drugs that have
been found in the analyzed samples.

"Regardless of your thoughts on the risks of MDMA, there's no
guarantee that [MDMA] is what you're actually getting."

Babiar said that in the past year he has seen a dramatic rise of MDMA
in drug culture. There was a spike in 1999, and Toronto police have
continued to see more MDMA related arrests since then.

The dangers

Increased body temperature and increased blood pressure, two physical
effects of taking MDMA, can cause overheating, which can lead to
hyperthermic death.

Though death from taking MDMA is rare, scientists have yet to
understand why some people die from it while others are completely
fine.

MDMA appears to be safer than other drugs. Based on a UK study
published in the Lancet, the world's oldest medical journal, earlier
this month, ecstasy was ranked 16 out of 20 on a list of drugs based
on harm to the user and harm to others. Alcohol came first, followed
by heroin and crack cocaine. With most of its harm being physical and
nearly all harm affecting the individual using, MDMA shows little risk
when compared to other drugs.

"It doesn't mean it's safe, but it does seem to be less harmful than
other drugs," said Kish.

"It can't be safe if ingesting a tablet or two can cause death. It's
rare, but it can cause death."

Kish says MDMA is not an addictive drug but that like many other
drugs, MDMA users will develop a tolerance to it - although the
scientific community isn't exactly sure how.

A tolerance shows that something in the brain has changed. Not
necessarily brain damage, said Kish, but something has changed.

What Kish does know is that there is still much to learn about MDMA
and its effects on the brain and body.

"You will suffer from a loss of serotonin in your brain. But I can't
tell you what the consequence of that will be," said Kish. "[MDMA] is
still, in my opinion, an area of uncertainty."

Dr. J=FCrgen Rehm, a senior scientist and co-section head of public
health and regulatory policy section at CAMH, agrees that while MDMA
has a low risk factor when compared to other drugs, it is not without
risk.

He said MDMA kills fewer people than alcohol, possibly because fewer
people use it.

"If as many people trying alcohol had tried ecstasy, ecstasy would be
much higher on that [Lancet] list."

Rehm also said that while other drugs have high risks in a few
specific areas, MDMA holds a lot of risks that are simply rare or yet
to be proven.

He said regardless of the happy effects and lack of harm to others,
the risk profile of MDMA is bad enough to justify its prohibition.

That's enough for Mudry to consider quitting MDMA altogether.

"I'm really conscious now of the after effects. I get really nervous
that it's taking huge chunks out of my brain, and I don't know how
much I want to play with my brain anymore," Mudry said.