MDMA produces stimulant-like and empathogenic effects, inducing euphoria, increased confidence, emotional closeness, and social openness through release of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, oxytocin, and prolactin while dampening fear circuits. First synthesized in 1912 for blood-clotting research, it was re-synthesized in the 1970s and used by psychotherapists to enhance communication in therapy. MDMA is commonly illicitly manufactured and used by club-goers, teens, and young adults, with millions reporting past-year use and substantial lifetime prevalence among high school seniors. Pharmaceutical-grade MDMA is under study as a treatment for PTSD, a disorder affecting about 6 percent of the U.S. population.
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), known colloquially as Molly and Ecstasy, is a synthetic drug with effects similar to stimulants like methamphetamine. It was first synthesized in 1912 by German chemists at Merck pharmaceutical company, who were developing compounds related to blood-clotting agents, not recreational drugs. An American chemist, Alexander Shulgin, re-synthesized it in the 1970s and tested its psychoactive properties.
Those who use MDMA feel self-confident and open up in social situations, believing strangers "get them" immediately. As a result, MDMA is called an empathogen or entactogen. Users experience euphoria due to release of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which activate the reward system, enhancing oxytocin and prolactin release while dampening amygdala fear circuits.
MDMA is a drug that is often illegally manufactured and taken illicitly by club-goers, teens, and young adults. While rates of teen MDMA use have been declining over the past decade, about 2.4 million young people used the drug in the past year, and about 10% of high school seniors have tried MDMA at least once, according to the Monitoring the Future survey.
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