"Why everything that's supposed to be bad, make me feel so good?" This is the question that rapper Kanye West asks in his song, "Addiction," on his new album Late Registration, and this is the question that millions of drug users ask themselves on a daily basis. Especially when talking about Ecstasy.
"Ecstasy is the perfect name for the drug, because that's the feeling you get. It's indescribable - there's no better feeling in the world," 25-year-old Ecstasy user Mike said.
Ecstasy, (also called X, E or a variety of other names depending on the logo on the pill) is different from a lot of other narcotics in that it has not been proven to be physically addictive. However, the question of whether or not it is safe was enough for it to have been banned by Federal law in 1985.
"I don't treat a lot of patients from Ecstasy-related symptoms," said nurse Melanie Krane. "There really are no withdrawal symptoms from the drug. I have a feeling that the people who get bad E skip the withdrawal and sickness and are pretty much just dying."
Ecstasy is known chemically as methylenedioxymethylamphetamine or MDMA. It is classed as a hallucinogenic amphetamine, although it is rarely hallucinogenic at normal dose levels. There are no real medical uses, but it was used by a number of psychiatrists and therapists up until its ban because of its ability to stimulate understanding between users.
Although created in the early 1900s, the drug didn't really hit the streets until the 1970s, when it was dubbed the "hug drug." In the 1980s, Ecstasy was available over the counter in clubs and bars until the ban in 1985.
But the impact of Ecstasy in the U.S. came later when the rave culture came across from the UK and Europe. The use of the drug became a normal thing at dance clubs and raves.
Now, however, Ecstasy has escaped the club scene and has become part of the lifestyle of many young people and people in older age groups who used the drug earlier in life.
"I used to take Ecstasy at raves," Mike said. "I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it now, but then, everyone else was in the same state. It was the accepted thing to do. I didn't care if anyone else knew if I was on it."
The lack of physical addiction and withdrawal symptoms from Ecstasy may be part of the problem with the popularity and wide use of the drug, but psychological addiction may be a different story.
"I don't think Ecstasy is physically addictive, but maybe mentally I could see it being - as in, you want that feeling again," Mike said.
"People don't really talk about being addicted to Ecstasy. Usually if they were on E, they were on something else, and that's what they were trying to get off of," a member of Narcotics Anonymous said. "They definitely mention Ecstasy a lot, though. They talk about using it and the high that they get from it and how they keep using it in hopes of chasing that high and keeping it. They always talk about that feeling they were chasing."
And what is this feeling, this high, that people want so bad to keep?
"Ecstasy gives you this euphoric feeling - it physically just makes you feel good," Mike said.
Ecstasy, usually found in pill form, can begin to affect you after 20-60 minutes and can last for several hours. According to the Directory of Recreational Drugs, "You get a euphoric rush followed by feelings of serenity and calmness and the dissipation of anger and hostility. The drug appears to stimulate empathy between users, but there is no evidence that it is really an aphrodisiac. In this respect it tends to enhance the sensual experience of sex rather than stimulate the desire for sexual activity or increase sexual excitement. There is heightened perception of surroundings without the visual distortions and illusions associated with LSD."
"The feelings from Ecstasy are over your whole body, so things like hand rubs and massages feel great, and sex feels even more intensified," Mike said.
Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft said there is a new date rape drug being labeled "sextasy," which is a mix of Viagra and Ecstasy. He said that people take this drug at clubs and literally become "sexual monsters." He also said that it was a factor in the spread of AIDS, since people couldn't control themselves not to have sex.
Ecstasy has varied in price over the years, depending on its availability, but its cost is usually somewhere between $15-$30 a pill.
"The cheapest I've paid was about $6 a pill and that was about a year and a half ago. The most expensive is $30 and that was about six years ago, when I first started using," Mike said. "The normal now is probably about $15- $20 a pill. I spent way too much money on it. It would be 5 a.m., and I'd already taken 4 or 5 that night, but I'm calling people to find more."
Ecstasy also started becoming a more recognized part of pop-culture when people like 50 Cent started rapping about it. In his song, "In Da Club," he says, "I got the X if you into taking drugs...so come give me a hug if you into getting rubbed."
Part of the danger of Ecstasy is mixing it with other drugs. A lot of people who take it are also taking other things, whether it is alcohol or another drug. The most common dangerous side-effect of Ecstasy is dehydration, so mixing it with something like alcohol which also causes your body to be dehydrated is potentially deadly.
"There have been times when I've felt overheated, especially when I went to raves. One of the last raves I went to, someone died of heat exhaustion, and they had taken Ecstasy. That was in 2002," Mike said. "But I've eaten 13-14 through the course of a night and seen people eat even more than that, and I've never known of anyone OD'ing on it."
"You have your short-lived addiction, but once you come down from it, you're fine. I wouldn't advise people not to take it except for the fact that it's illegal."
Illegal it is. The Ecstasy Awareness Act threatens imprisonment for those who "profited monetarily from a rave or similar dance event knowing or having reason to know that some event-goers may use drugs there."
In 2001, harsher federal penalties for MDMA offenses went into effect, treating it more seriously than cocaine and almost as seriously as heroin.
As with any other drug, there is always an option for help. Just look in the Yellow Pages under Narcotics Anonymous.
As the NA spokesman said, "There are millions of treatment centers. Most insurance companies will cover your treatment, but most centers will let you in even if you don't have insurance."
But for those who don't seek help and count on Ecstasy addiction being temporary, medical people still come back to the uncertainty of what is in those pills.
"There is no quality control with Ecstasy, as well as with many other drugs," said Nurse Krane. "So you never know what you're taking when you eat that pill. With each chance you take, you could very well just be knocking on death's door."
