Ecstasy is an illegal synthetic drug, initially patented by a Germany pharmaceutical company Merck, in 1912. It was developed to help blood clotting but was not subject to further development until 1927 and then again in 1959 - on neither occasion was it used on human subjects.

During the 1950s Alexander Shulgin, a US pharmacologist developing insecticides for DOW Chemicals, started to research MDA, a substance that previously the US army had hoped might work as a truth serum.

It wasn’t until 1976 that Shulgin re-synthesized the substance and created Ecstasy. Fuelled by his passion to unearth the mysteries he continues to developing numerous other mind-altering drugs from his laboratory, controversially against the wishes of his previous employer, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

MDMA was made illegal in 1985 and is often used and abused by a vast number of people all over the world. MDMA was the original substance, named ecstasy, although recently there has been a large increase in substitutes being passed off as Ecstasy and also cutting agents introduced to bulk out or add to the effects.

There are numerous effects that can vary due to the quantity and physical proportion, including;

• Acne
• Addition
• Aggression
• Blurred Vision
• Brain damage
• Cold Sweats
• Confusion
• Depression
• Empathogenesis (emotional connection with others)
• Entactogenesis (touching within)
• Erectile dysfunction
• Euphoria
• Increased hear-rate
• Nausea
• Paranoia
• Pupil dilation
• Sensory enhancement
• Sleep Issues
• Teeth Chattering
• “The Hug Drug”