Ecstasy: A Drug That Can Kill Missing Works Cited Three years ago, Mark*, now a college student, went to a Dave Mathews concert in Boston with some friends. He was 18 at the time and about half an hour before the concert started, they all decided to take a pill of the drug Ecstasy. This was Mark's first time taking the drug, so he didn't entirely know what to expect. They chose what's called the "fast" type, commonly used at raves and parties, rather than the "dumb" type, which is known to give a slower, more relaxing sensation. your back and the feeling that everything in life is right. Your jaw starts to clench and you like to chew things... gum, straws, candy," he said. The sensations Mark felt are typical effects of the drug. His most intense sensations lasted about three hours, and the general feeling of the drug remained for about six to seven hours. Yet the feelings of contentment ended abruptly when he woke up the next day. “The next day was the most horrible day of my life,” he said. “All the happiness it was triggered in your brain gets dried up and you're left with nothing." More than eight million people ages 12 and older have reported using the "club" drug ecstasy at least once in their lives, according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse ( NHSDA), a source of information on the consequences, patterns, and prevalence of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use and abuse in the general U.S. population, ages 12 and older. commonly known as ecstasy, it is a synthetic psychoactive drug used for its euphoric and hallucinogenic causes. Formally used as an adjunct in psychotherapy in the 1970s, it is now banned in the United States. Although illegal, it is rapidly growing in popularity in the United States, particularly among teenagers and young adults. Taken orally in tablets or capsules, snorted or injected, it generally takes 30 to 40 minutes to take effect and lasts about three to six hours, although some side effects may occur weeks after taking the drug. Psychological side effects of ecstasy include confusion, brain fog, depression, sleep problems, anxiety, and paranoia. Like Prozac, it causes an increase in serotonin, a chemical in the brain that triggers feelings of happiness in people. Some physical side effects are muscle tension, teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, chills, or sweating.