By: Kelly Wecksell
Based on the booklet: 10 Things Your Friends May Not Know About Drugs
Truth is, to say Ecstasy is a dangerous drug is really an understatement. Read on…
Ecstasy is known as the “club drug.” Since gaining popularity at clubs and raves (large, often underground, all night parties involving electronic music and dancing) emergency room incidents have climbed more than 1200%. (Drugfreeworld.com) Sadly this drug is one of the most widely used between teenagers and young adults.
A hallucinogenic drug does not differentiate between what is real and what is not — it causes a person to record actual experiences, as well as imagining things that are not real. This creates confusion in the memory. Ever heard of a bad trip? A person might start to think about something sad or scary from the past (or dream something up in the moment) and imagine that it is actually happening in present time. The person often gets stuck in this experience causing a lasting feeling of sadness or fear. This not only destroys the “high” of the drug, causing a person to feel terror, loss of control and pain, but often the person stays stuck in those feelings well after the drug has worn off.
The damages to the body from ecstasy are extreme: Dehydration, exhaustion, liver damage, kidney damage, increase in body temperature that can cause the heart to stop working, destruction of brain cells (ie. brain damage!), damage to nerve cells which causes motor problems similar to those of Parkinson’s (a neurological disorder affecting body movement—tremors are a usual symptom), and memory problems. Additionally, when mixed with alcohol ecstasy becomes even more deadly.
Ecstasy forces large quantities of serotonin (a chemical in the brain that passes messages along in order to regulate things like mood, appetite and sensory perception) to be released into the brain causing artificial and temporary feelings of compassion, well being, empathy and euphoria. Because the brain can’t replenish its natural supply as quickly under the influence of this drug it often leads to severe and long lasting depression.
Per the Drug Enforcement Administration ecstasy is in the same category with LSD and heroin, a category that says “no accepted medical use”, “lack of accepted safety for use” and “high potential for abuse.” Possession of this illegal drug can bring about jail time and heavy fines.
There is some good news in all of this: one does not have to live the rest of his or her life with parts of this drug (the residuals) lodged in their body. Through our New Life Detoxification a person can rid himself of the harmful residual chemicals and toxins left in the body after taking ecstasy. With our trained staff and step by step program we help a person to recover from addiction. We help him to find the answers to why he turned to drugs in the first place and through a series of therapeutic drills and exercises he discovers how to live happy, fulfilling, drug free life.
Contact us at 877-850-7355 to speak to a Narconon staff member.
Earlier drug education articles:
Article #1: Drugs are Basically Poisons
Article #2: Almost All Drugs Affect the Mind
Article #3: People Take Drugs to Get Rid of Unwanted Situations or Feelings
Article #4: When a Drug Wears off, the Person Wants More
