Forums › Drugs › Ecstasy & MDMA › What is Ecstasy?
Ecstasy
aka E, Pills, XTC, X or Extasy.
So what is Ecstasy?
Ebeneezer Goode!
If you sit down and talk to some of the sad old gits who are still out and about in the dance ‘scene’ you won’t have to wait too long to find one or two harking back to the heady days of the (second) summer of love, Balearic beat, Madchester, whistle possees, M25 parties, Castle Morton and doves…the rush of interest in new music, new vibes, new values and new drugs. Ah, heady days. This was the sound that we’d all been waiting for. Top one, nice one. Ecstasy that was actually pretty much full of MDMA, and a buzz that seemed to go on for years.
Things move on, as is the nature of things…and somehow ecstasy use has remained popular, gaining popularity with each new generation of party people. For many Europeans, it’s the power of E (or mitsi’s, or whatever’s about right now) that’s been driving ‘dance’ (in its many forms) into the clubs, onto the streets, and into the houses of happy smiling people who just want to be having it. Large.
Most people who use ecstasy just seem to take it for granted that the pill(s) they’ve bought will contain a variety of chemicals. For the purists, ecstasy should only contain 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine, (MDMA). If it really has to be pressed into a pill then I guess bulking and binding agents are allowed. Most pills contain other drugs too – similar chemicals like MDA or MDEA, amphetamine (speed), ketamine (an anesthetic used in veterinary surgery) or even LSD (acid). Some pills contain no MDMA at all. Some people manage to purchase pills containing no psychoactive ingredients at all. Of course this has nothing to do with ecstasy, and everything to do with the illegal market in which they’re dabbling. It’s all part of the deal.
…a sunny “hello!”
Active doses fall in the 80mg – 150mg range. Above this dose the experience becomes very ‘speedy’. In Phenethylamines I Have Known And Loved (PiHKAL), Alexander Shulgin provides some wonderful qualitative comments about his experience using 120mg of pure MDMA. He finishes…”I am complete”. Lots of people using e describe feelings of universal connection, closeness, excitation, euphoria and a rush of energy. People feel dis-inhibited, talkative, and keen to talk about personal things in a way that seems deep and significant to them.
MDMA encourages people to feel closer to the people they are with.
If you’re using e with a few close friends (or just one special one) in a relatively quiet environment at home the experience will be markedly different to what you can expect to experience in a hot, noisy, crowded club full of people who are also off their faces. Horses for courses, as they say. I’m sure someone, somewhere, still says that.
The effects usually start within about half an hour. Sometimes an inexperienced user can feel a bit confused or anxious. High doses, or chemicals other than MDMA, can also cause some of these unwanted effects. High doses can initially cause a lack of co-ordination and dizziness. If this happens, it’s a good idea to sit down until the rush passes.
Ecstasy has both stimulant and hallucinogenic qualities. Some pills cause a distortion of sound and vision. These distortions are caused by pills that contain chemicals with more potent hallucinogenic properties, including drugs like LSD or ketamine.
The effects usually last for four to six hours, peaking after about two hours. If someone takes a pill that lasts for longer than this then it probably contains amphetamine (speed). They’d feel ‘up’ and have loads of energy, but wouldn’t’t feel the closeness associated with MDMA.
Taking a 40mg dose about one and a half hours after taking a 120mg dose will extend the effects of the e for about an hour without increasing the physical side effects (eye twitching and teeth clenching) significantly. Bear in mind of course that unless you know the purity and potency of the pills that are available, it will be difficult to estimate dosages.
Twitching eyes and a world-class gurn?
What else does it do?
Ecstasy is a stimulant drug. Some of the physical effects of ecstasy include dilated pupils, dry mouth and throat, increased heart rate and blood pressure, jaw tension, increased sweating and loss of appetite.
MDMA interferes with the body’s temperature regulating mechanism, so body temperature can increase to potentially damaging levels. It also encourages the body to increase production of a hormone called ADH (anti diuretic hormone) which prevents your body from excreting urine. You don’t pee as much as you would normally.
A lot of researchers are wondering what the long term effects of ecstasy are. Some research suggests brain damage and liver damage. Other research discounts this. It’s difficult to provide clear information when different pills contain different chemicals. The truth is, no-one knows for sure whether using e is harmful in the long term. Aside from physical health risks, there is also an increasing body of evidence suggesting harm to psychological health for some users.
Me want stay on planet, have lossa good time, no?
Let’s just assume, for the sake of argument, that you’ve decided to use e and you’ve managed to find a source of quality MDMA. It’s difficult to talk about the risks of all the chemicals it might be, and MDMA does have a few risks all of its own. Big risks with ecstasy are overheating and dehydrating. Ecstasy is often used at clubs or parties where people are dancing and getting hot and sweaty. Someone using e in this kind of environment needs to drink about a pint of liquid over the course of each hour to replace the fluid they are losing through sweating. You should drink water, fruit juices or ‘sports’ drinks. Avoid alcohol, not only does it also dehydrate, it will bring you down from the e. Eating salty snacks (or drinking those ‘sports’ or ‘isotonic’ drinks) will replace the minerals that are also lost when you sweat.
Ecstasy prevents people from going to the toilet (to pee) as much as they might do normally. If someone isn’t sweating they don’t need to take as much fluid on board; drinking a lot could actually be very dangerous. Water isn’t an antidote to ecstasy, it’s an antidote to dehydration. If you’re not sweating, you don’t need to replace fluids.
Drinking too much water can cause the brain to swell, leading to collapse, coma or even death. .
The after effects of ecstasy use can include insomnia, anxiety, irritability and paranoia. The range and severity of after effects depends on the amount of ecstasy that is being used, and how often it’s used. Sleeping and eating will aid recovery. Essential nutrients, particularly vitamin C and calcium, will need to be replaced. If you take vitamin and mineral supplements before taking ecstasy your body will have time to absorb the nutrients, and recover more quickly. Your body should be able to tolerate up to 3g of Vitamin C in one dose, although obviously if you have any kind of stomach complaint you should seek proper medical advice before taking large doses of citric acid. Don’t forget to rest properly, too.
If you’ve been taking e every weekend and are starting to find that the days in between are becoming unbearable it’s time to take a break. Some people have developed short term mental disorders like anxiety, depression, low self esteem and paranoia after using e regularly. If this sounds like you, or a friend, then you’ll be pleased to know that these people’s moods generally lift once they stop using for a while. It needn’t be forever. The same applies if you find yourself needing more pills to get the effect you want. Once you’re taking more than two pills in an evening the effects are more like speed. And it’s not a race, you know.
If you’re going to use e, it’s safer to use small amounts occasionally with a long enough gap between uses to enable your body to recover.
Taking large does of e, using it regularly or not acting on the risks we do know about is more likely to lead to damage to your health.
It’s worth bearing in mind that e will have a significantly adverse impact on your ability to identify anything that doesn’t sound like a good idea. It can dramatically affect your ability to make rational decisions. It will severely limit your ability to feel inhibited about very much at all. Be careful what you agree to…I know of at least one poor soul who proposed marriage in a state of ecstatic union, and repented at leisure. Precipitated by a particularly fine evening at the Ministry of Sound, London, UK. If you’re reading this, sweetie, this is your cue to say “bastard!”
You have the right to party.
In the UK ecstasy use is illegal. The chemical MDMA is controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as a Class A, Schedule 1 drug.
Other Class A drugs include heroin, LSD and cocaine.
Hello all,
Im just wondering if i can get a little e help off someone..
im 20yrs old and i live in the north of engalnd.I have been doing e for about 2 years but only really ever tried a few types of pills.
ive tried, white stars, pink love hearts, grey clovers and white pitchforks..i have a reliable dealer and very rarely have bad pills (except the clovers which were naff)..but i’ve just got 6 green Shrek 2’s…my mate says there good but quite speedy and you only need one pill to start off but i’ve searched the web and found a few different sources saying different things about them…
some saying there good, some bad..(including a thread on this site saying the ones in belfast are bad)
just wondering if anyones tried them and how you got on….
im gonna drop mine at home tommorow night with my girlfriend.
any help would be appreciated..
cheers
i heard that they were a bit spacey and made people feel really unsociable
They were in the news as containing yabba…an quite a bit of it.
yabba??…isnt that methamphetamine?
what would that cause?
the pills have got a little outline of shreks face on one side
and shrek written with a big 2 on the other side…they are a light green colour…i’ve got 5 full ones and one broken in half…they cost me a tenner for 6..
what would that cause?
Yeh…I’m no expert on it. Check erowid.org for decent info
its amphetamine with an iodine chemical bond, its pink in colour and people call it ‘pink champaigne’
NB : this brandname and colouring has been used for lower grade stuff as well. it was a common “brand” back in the early 90s (about 1991 or so) and this certainly wasn’t meth.
Any fool can buy a bit of food colouring. I am aware of a spate of fairly normal stuff being coloured in this way as well.
I’ll put the full link at the bottom; but if you don’t want to plough through stacks of complicated science type stuff and yanks trip reports its basically a very strong form of speed that will keep you going for a bit but make it very hard to sleep – perhaps even for a couple days.
the lack of sleep /comedown can play with your mind a bit and it can be heavy on the body. Some people have quite a harsh time from the after effects of stuff like this; go careful with it and set aside time for recovery as well as the rush…
Is there an age limit for taking Ecstasy? Does it have a limited effect at a certain age? Or can you enjoy it long into your thirties or even forties?
***I AM NOT A DOCTOR. DO NOT TRUST ME COMPLETELY***
Ecstacy not being very legal, there aren’t (to my knowledge) any published facts about when & how it should be taken, though there are many guidelines…
At parties/festivals, I have seen, er, old people who look as though they’re having it just as hard as the youngsters. I have not, though, asked them what they’ve eaten.
I think it’s fair to say that you can eat them into your thirties. Older friends of mine have been known to munch beans on occasion. I think the reason most 30-40 people don’t get mashed so much is out of lifestyle choice more health.
I think, regardless of age, if you’re feeling relatively healthy it would be OK. If you’re worried just do a little bit.
Don’t forget the other option, though, you could always do acid…
Ecstacy not being very legal, there aren’t (to my knowledge) any published facts about when & how it should be taken, though there are many guidelines…
At parties/festivals, I have seen, er, old people who look as though they’re having it just as hard as the youngsters. I have not, though, asked them what they’ve eaten.
I think it’s fair to say that you can eat them into your thirties. Older friends of mine have been known to munch beans on occasion. I think the reason most 30-40 people don’t get mashed so much is out of lifestyle choice more health.
I think, regardless of age, if you’re feeling relatively healthy it would be OK. If you’re worried just do a little bit.
Don’t forget the other option, though, you could always do acid…
Yes well last time i did a pill about 2 month ago it was very nice,unexpected really,i was a bit dubious after caining pills for years i thought tolerance levels might be riding high,and with coke being my choice of class A i wasnt expecting much really.
Ecstacy not being very legal, there aren’t (to my knowledge) any published facts about when & how it should be taken, though there are many guidelines…
At parties/festivals, I have seen, er, old people who look as though they’re having it just as hard as the youngsters. I have not, though, asked them what they’ve eaten.
I think it’s fair to say that you can eat them into your thirties. Older friends of mine have been known to munch beans on occasion. I think the reason most 30-40 people don’t get mashed so much is out of lifestyle choice more health.
I think, regardless of age, if you’re feeling relatively healthy it would be OK. If you’re worried just do a little bit.
Don’t forget the other option, though, you could always do acid…
besides i dont know anyone who can get acid,it seems to be extinct round here!
This seems to be the case with a lot of people now.
It’s a shame, I much prefered seeing people confused and amazed at stuff rather than grinning innanely and bouncing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m one of them too…
But remember the times, confusion and colours, nice…
***peace***
Ecstacy not being very legal, there aren’t (to my knowledge) any published facts about when & how it should be taken, though there are many guidelines…
At parties/festivals, I have seen, er, old people who look as though they’re having it just as hard as the youngsters. I have not, though, asked them what they’ve eaten.
I think it’s fair to say that you can eat them into your thirties. Older friends of mine have been known to munch beans on occasion. I think the reason most 30-40 people don’t get mashed so much is out of lifestyle choice more health.
P.S Acid is worse for you because it makes you a vegetable. DON’T DO IT! :you_smart
I think, regardless of age, if you’re feeling relatively healthy it would be OK. If you’re worried just do a little bit.
Don’t forget the other option, though, you could always do acid…
I almost agree with you there fully. I too AM NOT A DOCTOR, SO DO NOT ACT OUT WHAT I SUGGEST but in theory as long as you follow the simple guidelines and don’t take it every week or day you should be ok:
Avoid taking ecstasy if you’re on anti-depressants, and try to avoid wolfing down cans of Super Tennents as the alcohol will dehydrate you – as well as weaken the effects of the E. Ecstasy puts a tremendous strain on your heart, liver and kidneys, and it’s important to take time out in a chill-out area during the night.
Most of the dangers come from people overheating and not replacing enough fluids while dancing, so it is essential to keep drinking water if you’re dancing. We can’t stress this fact enough. But also be careful not to drink too much – about about a pint an hour is right if you’re on the dancefloor.
Remember that water is not an antidote to E, it just helps combat the dehydrating qualities of the drug.
Always make sure that you can get home safely before taking E, and don’t try to drive. :bigsmile: 😉 :bounce_o: :crazy_diz :wave:
tons of information and good articles here
I been doing them to long and they fuk you up properly. even worse when there mixed with sionide and that shit fuks you up even more properly. Dont buy from unknown dealers and given the option i would only ever do them once cos the first cum up is the best it wont get better
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Forums › Drugs › Ecstasy & MDMA › What is Ecstasy?