ecstasy
... This phrase is quite often asked to many partiers who are thought to be on Ecstasy, and describes the type of high they obtain. When adults think of ecstasy, a thought of being overwhelmed by strong emotions may come to mind while many teenagers think of the drug. Ecstasy, the most well known designer drug, is a powerful stimulant and mood changer that speeds up body systems and alters one’s perception of the world. ... Use of this drug has become prevalent all over the country; however most do not know where it came from, what Ecstasy is used for, the highs and effects it produces, and its popularity among ravers. Ecstasy, in its pure form, contains the drug MDMA. Aspirin, and other over-the-counter or prescribed medications, have been found mixed with the drug or are simply tried to be passed off as Ecstasy. ... The full name is 3,4-Methylenedioxy-N-Methylamphetamine, and later came to be known as Ecstasy. Ecstasy is an amphetamine-like synthetic drug that acts simultaneously as a stimulant and a hallucinogen and belongs to a class of drugs known as designer drugs. ... Ecstasy is an illegal substance, thus manufacturers are not subject to quality control and regulation. Merck, a German chemist, first developed Ecstasy as a diet pill in 1912, although there is no evidence it was sold as this, moreover in 1965, Ecstasy was re-created by an American chemist named Alexander Shulgin, who shared his work with a small psychiatric group (Connelly 33). ... The government criminalized Ecstasy because people used it amiably in bars and night clubs where it could be bought out in the open (Brennan 52). It became widely available in the 1980’s and has become the most popular designer drug among young people, yet, in 1985, the Drug Enforcement Agency banned Ecstasy under the Controlled Substances Act and placed the drug in a Schedule 1 status (Connelly 34).