Word: mdma
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Proponents claim that it delivers a gentle two-to-four-hour journey that dissolves anxieties and leaves you relaxed and emotionally open, without the bad trips or addictive problems of other psychoactive drugs. The Drug Enforcement Administration says MDMA, or Ecstasy as it is known on the street, is an un- controlled and rapidly spreading recreational drug that can cause psychosis and possibly brain damage. Last week the DEA banned Ecstasy by labeling it with a one-year emergency Schedule I controlled-substance classification. That listing is reserved for drugs, like heroin and LSD, which have a high potential...
...acted because tens of thousands of tab- lets and capsules of MDMA are being sold on the street each month, at $8 to $20 for a 100-mg dose. The drug, which seems particularly popular with college students and young professionals, has spread from California, Texas and Florida to about 20 other states, and its use has been accelerating in the past few months. Said John Lawn, acting DEA administrator: "All of the evidence DEA has received shows that MDMA abuse has become a nationwide problem and that it poses a serious health threat...
Ecstasy was prohibited under the Controlled Substances Act of 1984, which allows the DEA to ban a drug temporarily when faced with a threat to public health. In March the ban was used against the so-called synthetic-heroin drug 3-methylfentanyl. As a result of MDMA's classification, which takes effect July 1, both manufacturers and sellers of the drug would be subject to fines of $125,000 and 15-year prison sentences. Possession would be a misdemeanor...
...derivative of oil of sassafras or oil of nutmeg, MDMA is known chemically as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and is not a new drug. It was synthesized in 1914 by chemists who thought mistakenly that as a relative of amphetamine it might be an appetite suppressant...
Today a small but vociferous group of psychiatrists, psychologists and scientists contend that MDMA has enormous therapeutic potential. Says James Bakalar of the Harvard Medical School: "I think the DEA's decision is precipitate. It's difficult to make a case that this is a serious threat to the nation's health or safety. They should wait until the research is in." MDMA boosters cite case histories to argue that Ecstasy can act as a catalyst in therapy by neutralizing emotional defenses. MDMA has been used to treat patients ranging from a painter with "artist's block" to abused children...