1.+History+of+Ecstasy

= Ecstasy (MDMA) History =

Early Years
Ecstasy was first produced in 1912. It was patented in Germany by the Merck chemical company in the year 1914. Ecstasy was an unplanned synthesis and the company was not initially interested in their findings as this was not their intended creation. When Merck decided to paten the drug they initially chose to market it as a weight loss pill. The extent of the research conducted by Merck cannot be put together, largely because the drug was forgotten about. In the early 1950’s, it was researched by the U.S Government, along with MDA and other substances. These results were not released to the public until 1973. ===**Use in the Later 1900’s** === ====The first reported medical use of ecstasy was not until the 1960’s. It was not discovered by the psychedelic therapy community until 1970, where it was then used by psychiatrists and therapists who were working in the field of psychedelic psychotherapy. When the drug was initially used for recreational use, as opposed to previous medical use, it was mostly used in Texas, under the name ecstasy. The use of ecstasy (both medically and non-medically) was made illegal in 1985, disregarding the encouragement from Drug Enforcement Administration Administrative Law Judge Francis Young's judgement that it should be legal to psychiatrists to prescribe to their patients. Soon after, its use spread quickly, growing outside of the United States. In 1976, the U.S use of ecstasy was 10,000 doses in a year, which rose to 30,000 doses in a month in 1985. ====

Ecstasy Timeline
//1912: MDMA was first produced by the Merck company // //1914: MDMA was patented by the Merck Company // //1953: MDMA was tested by Army Chemical Centre for toxicity on laboratory animals // //1965: MDMA was synthesized by Alexander Shuglin; but he does not test it personally // //1967: Minimal amounts of MDMA are synthesized and sold undergroud, but few people have tried it by this point // //1968: Alexander Shuglin begins personally using MDMA and introduces it to several people // //1976: The first article on MDMA is produced // //1977: At this point, MDMA is available as a recreational drug on the street // //1977-1981: According to the Drug Abuse Network, only 8 people were hospitalized for use during this period // //1981-1985: According to the Drug Abuse Network, no people were hospitalized for use during this period // //<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">1985: MDMA (Ecstasy) is listed as a federal illegal drug, given the same status as other drugs such as herioin, or cocaine. // <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Ecstasy Timeline, 2001)

**<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Current Use: **
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ecstasy is most currently used by both males and females ages 16 - 25. It is most commonly used at raves, all night dance parties, and is sometimes mixed with other drugs like mushrooms, acid or ketamine. More recently the drug has adapted some common street names including E, X and Adam.