MDMA or Ecstasy

Ecstasy is drug that has stimulant and psychodelic properties. It is taken orally as a capsule or tablet. 

Street names are XTC, X, Adam, hug, beans, love drug. 

Short-term effects include feelings of mental stimulation, emotional warmth, enhanced sensory perception, and increased physical energy. Adverse health effects can include nausea, chills, sweating, teeth clenching, muscle cramping, and blurred vision.

It is known that drugs that are sold to individuals as "Ecstasy" tablets frequently contain not only MDMA, but other drugs or drug combinations that can be harmful. Adulterants found in MDMA tablets purchased on the street by researchers include methamphetamine, caffeine, the cough suppressant dextromethorphan, an over the counter cough suppressant that has PCP-like effects at high doses, the diet drug ephedrine, and cocaine. Also, like with other drugs of abuse, MDMA is rarely used alone. It is not uncommon for users to mix MDMA with alcohol, Viagra, or GHB or to "bump" and take sequential doses of a drug or drugs when the initial dose begins to fade. This has been confirmed by both treatment reports and medical examiner reports. Because of these drug combinations, it is difficult to anticipate with certainty all the potential medical consequences that can result from the use of MDMA. These drug combinations can also make it challenging to determine the precise role of MDMA in adverse reactions in recreational users.

MDMA in its true form works in the brain by increasing the activity levels of at least three neurotransmitters (the chemical messengers of brain cells): serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Like amphetamines, MDMA causes these neurotransmitters to be released from their storage sites in neurons resulting in increased brain activity. Compared to the very potent stimulant, methamphetamine, MDMA causes greater serotonin release and somewhat lesser dopamine release. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in regulation of mood, sleep, pain, emotion, appetite, and other behaviors. By releasing large amounts of serotonin and also interfering with its synthesis, MDMA causes the brain to become significantly depleted of this important neurotransmitter. As a result, it takes the human brain time to rebuild its serotonin levels. For people who take MDMA at moderate to high doses, depletion of serotonin may be long-term. These persistent deficits in serotonin are likely responsible for many of the persistent behavioral effects that the user experiences.