I tried to email Cecil personally about this, but I wasn’t really expecting a reply… I’m sure he’s busy enough as it is.
Ayways, I have a couple friends who are very into raves and yes, ecstasy. One of my friends is a medical major, and has the resources to research the subject. He says that all it does is use up most of the body’s serotonin very quickly (a matter of 4 hours) and then goes away… After that, you just feel very tired.
What I need to know is if there are any long term effects. What I really don’t care to hear is “Drugs are bad, m’kay?” I’m looking for a respons from someone who has maybe looked into this area themselves. I’d greatly appreciate any help, as I’m fairly concerned for them…
I have a friend who is a paramedic, and he says that driving drunk is actually relatively safe. He says your body knows instinctively how to keep the car on the road, especially if you’ve had your driver’s license for more than a year or two, and also that if you do get in a wreck, the effect of the alcohol makes you relax, so your injuries are actually not as bad as if you’d been in a wreck when you weren’t drunk.
For the rest of you who may not be having a problem detecting sarcasm and irony--
Oh, and Dr. Worm? My real paramedic friends (both of them) say there’s nothing they enjoy more than intubating people like you on a crowded dance floor on a Saturday night. :rolleyes:
If you don’t know what “intubating” means, ask your medical friend.
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen
X is generally safe. However there are some problems due to the fact that it is illegal. It is not made by reputable companies, but by somebody who you don’t know. X is actually MDMA, and there is also Eve which is MDA. They both have similar chemical structures and effects on the body and mind. However, if the recipe is off even slightly the damage can be significant. I remember reading about some people who had taken a bad batch of X and essentially their brains were reduced to mush, and they displayed the characteristics of Alzheimer’s.
It’s your brain…
Gee, I don’t think any of us expected him to say that.
Oops, i meant to say more… The illegality of it doesn’t really bother them too much, or me. What does, however, is the brain mushing thing Where did you read that from? They always get their x from one source that they trust a lot, so I’m not too concerned about that…
MDA is called “Eve” now? Not “Miracle Drops of Acid” any more? Anyway …
I suspect the X/Alzheimer’s article was actually the Nova episode on the bad batch of heroin that gave all those unlucky people in Santa Cruz something akin to horrible Parkinson’s.
Which isn’t to say that bad X couldn’t do something similar. Ingesting something where you don’t really know exactly what it is, where it came from, and what the recommended dosage is for someone your size = very foolish, very dangerous! (There was once an old proverb which has unfortunately since fallen out of usage: “Know your dealer”.) Most kids today I suspect believe exactly what they are told and don’t give much thought to genuine consumer assurance.
Once upon a time you could get ahold of pharmaceutical Ecstasy “imported” from the UK; they were little pinkish-grey pills, not kick-ass strong but certainly strong enough - totally safe too.
Anyway, www.ecstasy.org
MDA is called “Eve” now? Not “Miracle Drops of Acid” any more? Anyway …
I suspect the X/Alzheimer’s article was actually the Nova episode on the bad batch of heroin that gave all those unlucky people in Santa Cruz something akin to horrible Parkinson’s.
Which isn’t to say that bad X couldn’t do something similar. Ingesting something where you don’t really know exactly what it is, where it came from, and what the recommended dosage is for someone your size = very foolish, very dangerous! (There was once an old proverb which has unfortunately since fallen out of usage: “Know your dealer”.) Most kids today I suspect believe exactly what they are told and don’t give much thought to genuine consumer assurance.
Once upon a time you could get ahold of pharmaceutical Ecstasy “imported” from the UK; they were little pinkish-grey pills, not kick-ass strong but certainly strong enough - totally safe too.
Anyway, www.ecstasy.org
(apologies if this post is double, the board is being buggy again)
MDA is called “Eve” now? Not “Miracle Drops of Acid” any more? Hm.
I suspect the X/Alzheimer’s article was actually the Nova episode on the bad batch of heroin that gave all those unlucky people in Santa Cruz something akin to horrible Parkinson’s.
Which isn’t to say that bad X couldn’t do something similar. Ingesting something where you don’t really know exactly what it is, where it came from, and what the recommended dosage is for someone your size = very foolish, very dangerous! (There was once an old proverb which has unfortunately since fallen out of usage: “Know your dealer”.) Most kids today I suspect believe exactly what they are told and don’t give much thought to genuine consumer assurance. Even some dude who is “trusted” may just be parroting what he himself has been told about the product he’s vending. My educated guess is that only about 5% of “Ecstasy” out there is the real thing.
In any case, only one “hit” per person please … more does not mean a better high, only greater danger.
Once upon a time you could get ahold of pharmaceutical Ecstasy “imported” from the UK; they were little pinkish-grey pills, not kick-ass strong but certainly strong enough - safe, too.
MDMA (X) isn’t known to have a lot of dangerous side effects. But then again, not a whole lot of research has been done on it, so who knows?
I know that in several psuedo-scientific studies, X builds up a permanent tolerance. So your 10th hit won’t be as good as your first, even if your 10th is several years after your 9th. (I’ve said this elsewhere.) This would indicate to me permanent changes in the brain. But no one knows for sure.
It’s absolutely dangerous to take X and not get enough water, though. Water and orange juice, don’t forget.
Yeah, at the raves i’ve been to, eveybody’s carrying around a water bottle… So don’t think that’s too much of a problem… The last one i went to was really unorganized, and the people setting it up didn’t know where a bathroom/drinking fountain was… So we had to go exploring…
What’s the danger in not having water?
Thank you everyone for your help! I’ll pass that site on to my frined, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.
Sorry should have included this in my earlier post.
The "studies about permenant damage have been pretty well debunked. There is possiblity of permenant damage, but no proof. To give you an idea, they are currently conducting a study of heavy users of E, that is people who have taken 100 or more doses, to study possible changes. If you have to take over 100 doses to even be studied it’s pretty safe.
You do not build up a permenant tollerance to E. All E does is release large ammounts of Seratonin and block the new seratonin from coming in. It’s possible that over time your seratonin receptors could become damaged, and it would take a lot longer to get back to normal levels, but you would still have the same supply in your brain.
Related to that, that is one reason E is not addictive, you can’t take large ammounts in a short period, you need the time to recoup your previous seratonin levels.
As a former raver I’ll take a stab at answering some of these questions.
Dr. Worm, the danger in not having water is the possibility of severe dehydration. Water is your friend. If you are dancing all night, you will sweat. A lot. Therefore you should also drink a lot of water.
But it is important to remember to have nutrients while you are raving, as well. If you are going to be dancing for hours, non-stop, you will need fuel for your body. Even if you are able to keep going all night just on the “energy” of the drugs alone, your body will thank you for feeding it, and you won’t feel like such crap the next morning. At some raves you will see “smart drinks” being sold - basically they are smoothies - for just this reason. Or as an alternative eat a banana or some other fruit, if you can.
I personally don’t know if there are any long term effects to the body/brain as a result of doing MDMA. In the raver culture the party line is of course that it is harmless, and that there has not been enough research done about it anyway. My mother’s comment(she’s a psychologist), following along the excess-release-of-seretonin theory: It’s very possible that the brain has a finite amount of seretonin avaliable in any one lifetime. Wouldn’t it be a bummer to use it all up doing drugs in one’s teens or twenties, and not be able to get happy naturally when one is fifty?
Finally the other thing I have heard about the use of MDMA is a suspicion that it may be linked to Parkinson’s Disease in some way, although I must admit I know no details about that, I’ve just heard it around a lot.
I’m no doctor, so please understand that I’m just sharing a little bit of personal experience, and a rumor or two. I can personally say that if there are long-term effects of use of MDMA, they don’t manifest within 6 years.
Applying computer technology is simply finding the right wrench to
pound in the correct screw.
This is a really simple answer to your question and I can’t see how this has all gotten so difficult. Extasy is one of many drugs that in its correct “normal” form taken as a single hit not doubling is as safe as most an other “prescription” strength medication. The rules for this drug to keep it safe are the same as almost any other.
Don’t take more than is recommended as safe
Don’t do it very often.
Don’t spend the money if you don’t have it to blow.
If you build up a tolerance to it STOP!!! Don’t increase dosses.
Don’t be the first kid on your block to try it!!! I can’t stress this enough. NEVER NEVER NEVER take a drug unless you have received it from someone you trust and others have partaken from this batch already.
Never take any pill that can be tampered with. ie… X that comes in a seperable plastic pill thing that dissolves in you. Too much chance.
live by those rules don’t go overboard and you should be safe as are millions of other americans that delve into some drugs at a reasonable level.
Funny thing, my drug addiction was! It’s the only disease I know of that allows me to deny I have a disease. Re: your 6 Point Plan for Successful Drug Use, Quis:
What is a safe recommended dosage for Ecstasy? Or any other illegal, uncontrolled drug? (Snort 2 lines and call me in the morning?)
The nature of addictive drugs is that “not very often” or only after work, only on weekends etc., is the lines blur quickly and time eventually means squat. (It’s like, uh…'bout morning, Dude).
LMAO. A financially responsible and fiscally stable drug user?! (Can you give me on the cuff? My kids’ piggy bank is empty right now).
Hmmmm, I remember asking “how do you know when you’re addicted to this stuff?” His reply: “When you can’t say no”. Well, thinks I, if I ever can’t say NO, I’ll be sure to do something about that…as I took another hit. 5 years later…hello!?
Even your well-known, friendly, neighborhood drug dealer is open to inconsistent sources. To think otherwise is to be a fool. (Looks like my regular stuff, smells like my regular stuff…hey man, I think this is my regular stuff).
ANYTHING can be tampered with. And purer forms of drugs (coke, heroin etc) well, step right up and spin the wheel, friends, it’s anybody’s guess what your prize will be.
But hey, it’s your trip…knock yourself out.
I’m finished having kids. The next diaper I want in my life is to be my own!
Dalou, Where did I ever say it was Ok to take drugs or that you even should???
There is a reason drugs are illegal mkay They kill you and a lot of other people DUH. However, working in the restraunt business I have a lot of friends who do, do them and the ones that seem to let it not effect them as badly live by those rules. I am in no way saying it is a good thing just that if you are going to do it following those will help you out.
OBVIOUSLY the thing that will help you out the most is to NOT do drugs alright???
Man you try to help someone not get their ass killed and people treat you like a drug addict trying to sell his shtuff!!!
OH and
DR WORM!!!
One more thing I forgot to tell you specifically about extasy. Extasy is one of the drugs that has “Brand Names” Motorolas, smurfs, and so on. Ask around to people familiar and find out reputable name brands. That is another good bet to not get bad stuff that can mess you up. Also if anybody is trying to sell you comething that has the word cat or eyes in any combination of the name of the extasy STAY AWAY. It messess with your eyes and gives you jitter vision so to speak K? Oh yeah and if your dealer doesn’t know the name of the X don’t buy it.
I think that I need to clarify my statements in the context of what has been posted since. I never said that X caused Alzheimers or Parkinsons. If the drug is made properly I doubt there are many if any risks, other than the dehydration that has already been mentioned. X was used by therapists in order to get an empathetic response from patients, with good results. The danger comes if the chemist making a batch screws it up. If there is a screw up, then you are at risk from brain damage, because you wouldn’t be taking MDMA or MDA.
Gee, I don’t think any of us expected him to say that.
Well, there are no long-term studies that I’ve heard that say what it’ll do to you. There are some interesting near-term effects, though, including death of course since dosage and purity are usually random. The one unexpected thing I saw recently is how it is causing massive tooth decay and degradation from grinding, etc. Check out this article: http://metroactive.com/papers/metro/03.23.00/ecstasy1-0012.html
What are MDMA’s and MDA’s?