Mandy, E, Pills, Garys, XTC, Dids
Illegal (Class A)
Varies between £2 and £10 per tablet or £20 and £40 per gram
Stimulant
- Ecstasy comes in tablet form in various colours and sizes and MDMA is generally sold as a white /off white powder.
- Ecstasy/MDMA is much stronger today, compared to 10 years ago.
- It is important to drink plenty of fluids when taking ecstasy.
- Some ecstasy can contain more harmful chemicals such as PMA/PMMA which are highly toxic and potentially lethal.
- Using ecstasy for a long time can make sure you start to feel uneasy, or make you worry about things that you would normally not think about. It can also cause you to have ‘panic attacks’ or freak out.
- Ecstasy usually speeds up your heart rate which can lead to your body overheating this overheating can sometimes bring on a condition called hyperthermia (overheating), especially if you have been doing something active like dancing for long periods of time.
- Long term ecstasy use can damage your brain causing memory loss and affecting concentration.
- Ecstasy affects serotonin, the chemical in the body which that regulates temperature. Because of this, ecstasy use can cause you to overheat/faint or die of heatstroke.
- The “come down” following the high can make you not want to eat, feel tired and grumpy, your muscles ache and make you feel sad depression.
- Other physical effects include making pupils in your eyes grow bigger (dilated) and grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw.
- Because your liver and kidneys take most of the poisons out of your body if you use ecstasy regularly it can cause damage to your organs even when you are young.
- Using ecstasy causes your body’s immune system to become low, your immune system is what helps your body to stay well and fight off illnesses like coughs and colds. If you have a lower immune system you will become ill more often.
- You should not mix ecstasy with any other drugs especially alcohol.
- Remember to drink plenty of fluids like non-alcoholic/isotonic drinks if you are dancing a lot. These should be sipped during the night to combat fluid loss.
- Be careful that you don’t drink too much because this is also dangerous. Drinking too much water can cause a condition called (hyponatremia) which can in some cases cause death.
- Make sure that you take time to cool down as ecstasy can cause your body to overheat.
- The effects of ecstasy will vary from person to person, so you should not take any more if you do not feel the effects immediately.
- If you use ecstasy it is likely you will feel run down and “low” for at least for the next 24-36hours so it is best to take it easy for the following day at least.
