ECSTASY FACTS * General * Effects * Short Term Risks * Long Term Risks
Harm Reduction * Debunking Myths
LONG TERM RISKS
LONG-TERM CONSIDERATIONS FOR RAVERS
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Hearing Loss – This risk applies to MDMA users at raves, clubs, concerts, or anywhere with loud noise. Because MDMA enhances auditory senses and makes music better for many partygoers, dancing close to the speakers and having louder sound can be desirable. But these behaviors heighten the risk of hearing damage. Being under the influence of MDMA (or any pleasure-inducing substance) can also mask the discomfort of loud sound and ringing ears.
© JusticeDesign
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Sleep Deprivation – Due to MDMA’s stimulant effects, traditions of all-night dance cultures, and the use of other drugs such as long-lasting amphetamines and hallucinogens, most ravers and clubbers skip hours and hours of sleep on many weekends. Improper sleep (whether too much or too little) in the long run is a common factor of most mental and health problems among college students, working parents, and middle-aged professionals in the U.S.
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Nutrition – The effects of MDMA (as with any drug taken orally) will come on stronger if the stomach is empty, which prompts many users to fast in the hours before taking the drug. In addition, while on MDMA, the appetite is reduced. Some all-night raves also don’t offer food vendors. Thus, many ecstasy-using ravers go for a significant portion of their weekends without eating. Lack of or poor nutrition, just like improper sleep, is one of the most common and easily preventable everyday causes for most health problems among Americans.
LONG-TERM SIDE EFFECTS (NO CONCLUSIVE DATA)
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Depression
– MDMA fuels the brain to use up a lot of serotonin at once, thus depleting its levels in the days after consumption when it must replenish the supply. These days can be marked by depression due to the user’s temporary lack of serotonin activity. But repetitive compulsive use can extend post-ecstasy depression to weeks or months if the brain cannot catch up with the amount of serotonin being released all the time. In essence, supply cannot meet demand. Facts remain afloat as to whether regular MDMA use can cause long-term depression. No human studies have been conducted. In fact, because MDMA is similar to many anti-depressants in its actions on the brain, some psychotherapists believe MDMA can actually treat depression when used a small number of times between long intervals under supervised settings.
Neurotoxicity – Regular long-term use has been proven to lower levels of serotonin (5-HT), its synthesizing enzyme (TPH), and its transporter protein. Whether these reductions are permanent or not hasn’t been established. Currently, there is also no way to tell what practical effects such brain changes will have on the individual’s everyday cognitive, mental, and physical function. Claims have been made about brain cell damage, memory loss, and Parkinson’s-like conditions, although controlled human studies to support these theories have not been consistent.
RESEARCH ON BRAIN DAMAGE
by George Ricaurte, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Various experiments done on rodents and monkeys over the past decade have proven that high dose administrations of MDMA decrease the long-term amount of serotonin present in the brain. Damaged axons and receptors are also noted, with no certainty if those axons or receptors will grow back into normal condition. In very recent years, studies on humans suggest that ecstasy users who had not taken ecstasy for two weeks did worse on memory tests than non-users. Computer images tracing brain activity also showed that these users suffered lower amounts of serotonin like subjects in the animal studies. Other research finds that frequent users (25+ times) had lower serotonin levels for at least a year. This data should be taken with the following considerations:
- Animal studies used dosages of MDMA far higher than average human doses.
- Despite the use of control groups, human studies did not screen for users who might have had previous mental and cognitive deficiencies.
- Most subjects were known poly-drug users. In addition, no tests could have been applied to ensure that retrospective claims of MDMA use were not misreported due to consumption of adulterated pills.
- Impairment of normal everyday functioning was not noticeable from the suggested brain damage in humans.
- Long-term negative effects which may not seem apparent now could surface in years or decades, and would intensify with aging.
Other research by University of Chicago, 1998
Studies on rats suggested that ecstasy easily causes deregulation of body temperature. Rats given ecstasy in 20-22 degree Celsius environments got colder, whereas those exposed to 26-30 degree Celsius surroundings got warmer. Neurotoxicity in the rats also progressed with the increase in surrounding temperature and body temperature. Neurotoxicity was not noted in ecstasy-administered rats exposed to environments under 25 degrees Celsius. No evidence whether these findings apply to humans.
© 2004
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