Ecstasy Facts
- Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University demonstrated that 4 days of exposure to the drug caused damage that persisted 6 to 7 years later.
- Memory tests of people who have taken Ecstasy as compared to non-drug users have shown that the Ecstasy users had lower scores.
- The Federal penalty for manufacturing or selling ecstasy can lead to fines up to four million dollars. A ringleader or head manufacturer of ecstasy could receive life in prison.
- Some pills sold as ecstasy actually contain little or no MDMA. Pills may contain other drugs such as PMA or another MDMA analogue, DXM, household chemicals such as Ajax or rat poison, or other (sometimes lethal) byproducts.
Ecstasy Statistics
- In June 2000, the U.S. Customs Service intercepted some 9 million tablets of Ecstasy being smuggled into the United States.
- In July 2000, the U.S. Customs Service at Los Angeles International Airport seized 16 packages containing 2.1 million Ecstasy tablets (1,096 pounds) with an estimated street value of at least $41 million.
- Research suggests that people who used ecstasy at least 25 times had lowered serotonin levels for as long as a year after quitting.
- About 8% of high school seniors surveyed had tried Ecstasy at least once in their lives.
- About 5.5% of 19-22 year-olds surveyed had used Ecstasy in the previous year.
- Ecstasy-related emergency room incidents increased nationwide from 250 in 1994, to 637 in 1997, to 1,142 in 1998, to 2,850 in 1999.
- The number of persons being admitted for treatment of primary MDMA abuse is increasing in Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Texas.
- Most MDMA pills are produced in Belgium and the Netherlands, but there have been reports of attempts to establish clandestine MDMA labs in CEWG sites such as Minneapolis, San Diego, and areas of Michigan and South Florida.
- In 2000, approximately 6.4 million people had tried Ecstasy at least once in their lifetime. This is more than the the estimated 5.1 million lifetime users in 1999.
- 28% of teens know a friend or classmate who has used Ecstasy, with 17% knowing more than one user.
- 10% of teens say that they have been to a rave, and Ecstasy was available at more than two-thirds of these raves.
- Among 12th graders, Ecstasy use rose from 5.6% in 1999 to 8.2% in 2000, and for the first time, 8th graders showed increased rates in their use of Ecstasy as well.
- The statistics reveal the boom in ecstasy production and export from Europe. In 2000, 27.5 million ecstasy tablets were among 10,000 kilos of drugs produced in Europe and seized overseas. In Europe 17m tablets were seized in 2000, 50 per cent more than in 1999.
- The ecstasy smuggled from Europe to the US is worth more than £3 billion. Some comes from Britain or is trafficked by gangs with connections in the UK, according to European police sources.
- Ecstasy is manufactured and marketed by criminal organizations that make huge profits at the expense of our youth.
- Ecstasy use can damage brain cells that regulate mood, memory, sleep and appetite and can cause long-lasting memory problems.
- A 500% increase in Ecstasy use between 1993 and 1998 has been documented by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
- More than 40% of 12th graders reported it was "fairly easy" or "very easy" for them to obtain ecstasy (Monitoring the Future, 1999).
- In 1999, 2.7%, 6% and 8% of 8th, 10th and 12th graders respectively have tried ecstasy; 4.4% of 10th graders and 5.6% of 12th graders reported using ecstasy sometime within the last 12 months (Monitoring the Future, 1999).