A rough guide to drugs
Legal Status Class A: Ecstasy is a class A drug carrying penalties for possession of up to 7 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine. Supply/trafficking can carry penalties of up to life imprisonment and an unlimited fine. |
...is a chemically synthesised stimulant. It’s amphetamine based, with mild hallucinogenic properties. It normally comes in tablet or capsule form, but can also be a powder or liquid. It is usually swallowed.
It’s the drug of choice for many clubbers, and it has been estimated that as many as 4% of 16-25 year olds have taken some in the last 3 months.
Effects & Risks
There is a gradual build-up of the effects, which can take from about 20 minutes to an hour to start. In total the experience can last for several hours, but repeated doses are necessary to remain ‘high’.
• Many substances are sold as ecstasy but are not, and their effects are impossible to predict.
• Ecstasy gives people an energy buzz that makes them feel alert and alive. Clubbers love it because it means they can dance for hours without feeling tired.
• Ecstasy makes people feel in tune with their surroundings. Sounds and colours feel more intense.
• Lots of people feel chatty on ecstasy (these chats don’t always make sense to people who aren’t on ecstasy).
• It can increase the heart rate and blood pressure, which has an attendant risk to people who have pre-existing heart or blood pressure problems.
• Other effects include nausea, vomiting, stiffening of the muscles in the arms, legs and jaws, impaired coordination, dilated pupils, sweating, dry mouth and loss of appetite.
• Short-term effects can include anxiety, panic attacks, confused episodes, first-time epileptic fits and paranoia. Current evidence suggests that long term use can cause depression, personality change and memory loss.
Ecstasy can make users feel a bit down afterwards. Ecstasy Blues is the term given to the bad mood many clubbers feel on Mondays and Tuesdays after a big weekend.
• Ecstasy can cause the body’s temperature to rise to dangerously high levels. Add to that a sweaty dance floor and dehydration, and there’s the potential for ‘double heat-stroke’. Some deaths have been linked to other drugs like PMA which have been sold as ecstasy.
• The drug can cause the body to release a hormone which prevents the production of urine. This means that if you drink a few pints of liquid too quickly, it interferes with your body’s salt balance which can be as deadly as not drinking enough water.
• Regular users will develop a tolerance and will require higher doses to achieve the same effects.
Overdose
Although an overdose is not possible, there are dangers associated with its use as the effects listed above show.
Addiction
Not said to be physically addictive, but regular users may become dependent upon the physical sensations and emotional effects of the drug.
