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The following Information is from
http://www.dare.com/home/DrugInformation/Story29bc.asp?N=DrugInformation&M=11&S=19

Ecstasy is the best known of the designer drugs, because of its name and low price. Known on the street as Ecstasy, XTC, E, or Clarity. On the street, rave-goers have labeled Ecstasy "the love drug." News reports have documented it as a killer.

Basically, it is a cross between an amphetamine and a hallucinogen and is taken in pill form. As a stimulant, it unleashes energy and is commonly used to help kids stay awake at a rave. Users also experience surreal, visual distortions.

Brain damage is only one potential problem. Ecstasy or MDMA decreases the body's ability to regulate temperature. Kids are taking Ecstasy at raves and ending up with heat stroke.

Often kids at these drug fests get so revved up, they unwittingly mix different drugs. Youngsters who take Ecstasy or any illicit drug given away or peddled at giant gatherings take an immense health risk. “You never know what’s going to be in it, “ says the Drug Enforcement Administration’s expert on designer drugs. “We’ve seen Ecstasy pills that are only Excedrin and others that are pure amphetamine.”

Ecstasy has a long list of known and suspected negative effects on abusers. It pumps up the heart rate and blood pressure, so users may become hyperactive. It can produce blurred vision, fainting, chills, sweating, muscle tension, and disorientation due to such effects as panic, anxiety, depression, and paranoid thinking.

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Cognitive Effects
Chronic users of MDMA perform more poorly than nonusers on certain types of cognitive or memory tasks. Some of these effects may be due to the use of other drugs in combination with MDMA, among other factors.

Physical Effects
In high doses, MDMA can interfere with the body's ability to regulate temperature. This can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), resulting in liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system failure.

Because MDMA can interfere with its own metabolism (breakdown within the body), potentially harmful levels can be reached by repeated drug use within short intervals.

Users of MDMA face many of the same risks as users of other stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines. These include increases in heart rate and blood pressure, a special risk for people with circulatory problems or heart disease, and other symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating.

Psychological Effects
These can include confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug craving, and severe anxiety. These problems can occur during and sometimes days or weeks after taking MDMA.

Neurotoxicity
Research in animals links MDMA exposure to long-term damage to neurons that are involved in mood, thinking, and judgment. A study in nonhuman primates showed that exposure to MDMA for only 4 days caused damage to serotonin nerve terminals that was evident 6 to 7 years later. While similar neurotoxicity has not been definitively shown in humans, the wealth of animal research indicating MDMA's damaging properties suggests that MDMA is not a safe drug for human consumption.

Hidden Risk: Drug Purity
Other drugs chemically similar to MDMA, such as MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine, the parent drug of MDMA) and PMA (paramethoxyamphetamine, associated with fatalities in the U.S. and Australia) are sometimes sold as ecstasy. These drugs can be neurotoxic or create additional health risks to the user. Also, ecstasy tablets may contain other substances in addition to MDMA, such as ephedrine (a stimulant); dextromethorphan (DXM, a cough suppressant that has PCP-like effects at high doses); ketamine (an anesthetic used mostly by veterinarians that also has PCP-like effects); caffeine; cocaine; and methamphetamine. While the combination of MDMA with one or more of these drugs may be inherently dangerous, users might also combine them with substances such as marijuana and alcohol, putting themselves at further physical risk.

Health Hazards

Extent of Use