MDMA or ecstasy, is a synthetic, psychoactive drug with hallucinogenic and amphetamine like properties. MDMA is a very powerful drug that is a common drug of abuse today. MDMA causes the user to feel a very intense rush of euphoria, of well being. As well, it can causes hallucination, both visual and auditory. MDMA is a very dangerous drug that can kill people the first time they use it due to an allergic reaction. Prolonged MDMA use can lead to serious brain damage, memory loss, and motor skill impediment.

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy) is a designer drug first synthesized in 1914 by a German drug company for the treatment of obesity.⁸ Those who take the drug frequently report adverse effects, such as increased muscle tension and sweating. MDMA is not clearly a stimulant, although it has, in common with amphetamine drugs, a capacity to increase blood pressure and heart rate. MDMA does produce some perceptual changes in the form of increased sensitivity to light, difficulty in focusing, and blurred vision in some users. Its mechanism of action is thought to be via release of the neurotransmitter serotonin. MDMA may also release dopamine, although the general opinion is that this is a secondary effect of the drug (Nichols and Oberlender, 1990). The most pervasive effect of MDMA, occurring in virtually all people who took a reasonable dose of the drug, was to produce a clenching of the jaws.