Ecstasy, or 3, 4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, was first synthesized and patented in 1914, by the German drug company Merck. The original purpose of the drug was to be an appetite suppressant, however in 1970 it was given to clinical depressed patients to open them up and talk about their feelings. Then in 1986, Ecstasy was determined to cause brain damage (http://faculity. washington. edu/chudler/mdma. html). Ecstasy is used at the party and rave scene for its effects on the emotional state of the user. The drug lowers the user’s inhibitions; it relaxes them.
The drug also increases awareness and feelings of pleasure and joy while giving the user energy. Side effects of the drug includes: headaches, chills, eye twitching, jaw clenching, blurred vision, and nausea http://faculity. washington. edu/chudler/mdma. html). But the hangover ecstasy causes is said to worse then the hangover alcohol causes(“After the Rave: the Ecstasy Hangover). The hangover produced by ecstasy causes the user to have memory impairments. This is due to the loss of serotonin, which will be discussed later on.
The reduction in serotonine affects the brains capacity to learn and remember. The memory impairment has shown to be detected up until two weeks after use, but habitual users who have become addicted show damage for up until seven years. Research has shown that the impairment is not due to withdrawal, but is heavily dose- dependent (“Ecstasy’s Legacy”). Another problem with Ecstasy is the deadly combination it makes when mixed with other drugs and medications. Other drugs have harmed the body more so, because they use the liver enzyme CYP2D6 that metabolizes the drug.
Thus the body can not rid itself of ecstasy and acts as if experiencing an overdose. The body then dies as if it has overdosed (“Deadly Combination”). Other drugs such as anti-depressants, trigger a surge of blood pressure when mixed with ecstasy. This surge causes the heart to be overworked and eventually burn out, leading to cardiac arrest and death. Molecular Mechanisms, another medication, block the neurotransmitters that clear the nervous system of ecstasy(“Deadly Combination”). The nervous system is the area of the body most affected by the use of ecstasy.
Ecstasy begins to deteriorate the nervous system at the synaptic cleft, or the space between two neurons, where serotonine is released. Serotonine is a neurotransmitter known for its ability to cause powerful contractions of smooth muscles, therefore a key element in the regulation of blood pressure. Ecstasy causes the release of the neurotransmitters which leads to a fifty- eighty percent reduction in the serotonine. The reduction in serotonine stems into the brain and heart. In the brain the depletion of serotonine is noticed in the striatal area.
The straital area is the area responsible for coordination, learning, and memorization (“After the Rave: the Ecstasy Hangover”). The heart is damaged by the loss of serotonine because there is nothing to regulate the pressure of the blood flow. Blood pressure rises to dangerous levels before causing the body to go into distress before dying. The axon terminals after the neurotransmitters are released are supposed to reabsorb the extra neurotransmitters. The lack of serotonine in the neurons cause a lack of serotonine transporters, the spots on the neurons responsible for reabsorbing serotonine.
Ecstasy blocks the re-uptake of serotonine by the synaptic terminal. The serotonine becomes toxic and begins to kill off brain cells (“After the Rave: the Ecstasy Hangover”, (www. faculity. washington. edu/chudler/mdma. html). Another effect of the lack of serotonine is he decreasing amount of dopamine. Dopamine is an important role in cardiovascular, renal, and hormonal regulation (“Dopamine: Pharmacological and Therapeutic Aspects”). Without dopamine organ functions will not be regulated and will in turn lead to the failure of the system.
Once the system fails, the body will die. That is why a doctor begins given doses of dopamine to the patient if the experience cardiac arrest and begins ventricular fibrillation. Ecstasy is not the only drug that has harmful effects on the nervous system. There is another club drug, GHB, or Gamma Hydroxybutyrate that shows similar effects to ecstasy. GHB was designed to be a general anesthetic, but studies show that though it does cause sleep, it has caused comas. GHB is used as a club drug because it has become known as the liquid ecstasy, because the similar effects it produces.
Such as the feeling of euphoria, increased sensitivity, and heightened arousal. Though users feel better about themselves, the damages they cause are severe. GHB is getting a reputation as the new “date rape drug”, being used at bars and clubs to seduce young women. The occurrences of this use have escalated so much in the past few years that In February 2000, President Clinton signed HR2130, making the drug illegal as a Scheduled 1 drug, or the highest priority drug (www. faculity. washington. edu/chudler/ghb. html). Side effects from the drug include dizziness, vomiting, seizures, drowsiness, and a coma.
The effects of the nervous system are the cause of death for many users. Even though it has been proven that the brain produces GHB, through the synthesis of the neurotransmitter GABA, an excessive amount is fatal. Once in the body GHB increases the acetylocholine levels. This causes the serotonine levels to increase making the body fell relax and lax. Once the body has gone total lucid, the GHB causes the dopamine levels to drop, much like ecstasy does. Taken at a high dosage, GHB, will cause the dopamine to be eliminated from the nervous system sending the user into distress.
The brain damage that GHB causes, originates when the GHB activates the body’s natural GHB and GABA receptors, making them hyperactive. The hyperactive receptors bond to areas on the neurons in the brain and finally kill the neuron (www. faculity. washington. edu/chudler/ghb. html). A third type of club drug is Rohypnol, the most popular party drug. Rohypnol was developed to be a sleeping aid, its main purpose was to depress the central nervous system. However, the drug has been proven to cause memory loss, muscle relaxation, vomiting, hallucinations, breathing trouble, and also comas.
As with GHB and ecstasy, rohypnol works to destroy the body in the nervous system. Roypnol is a type of benzodiazepine, a sedative or an antianxiety medication. The benzodiazepine interacts with the receptors on neurons in the brain. Roypnol, like GHB targets the neurotransmitter GABA. The interaction between the GABA receptors and the roypnol inhibits neurons and reduces neuronal activity. The bonding of the receptors enhance the affect of GABA and begin to reduce brain activity.
Taken over long periods of time, the affect of the hyperactivity of GABA will cease all brain activity (www. culity. washington. edu/chudler/ghb. html). Drugs kill. That is the bottom line. It doesn’t matter the dosage of drug taken, because if the user becomes addicted the body is already poisoned with the toxins. Most drugs affect the nervous system. The nervous system is what keeps the body alive, to mess around with substances that are harmful to the system is like writing a death sentence. Drugs are not going to eliminated from society but people need to be kept informed about their decisions and the effects their choices have on them.
