• Ecstasy is taken orally, usually in a tablet or a capsule. Its effects last approximately 3 to 6 hours, though confusion, depression, sleep problems, anxiety, and paranoia may occur weeks after it is taken. Ecstasy damages neurons in the brain, affecting memory and thought.

• Ecstasy's stimulant effects, which enable users to dance for extended periods, may lead to dehydration, hypertension, heart or kidney failure, and a marked increase in body temperature. It may also lead to heart attacks, strokes, and seizures.

• An additional danger of ecstasy use lies in the fact that drug dealers may substitute other, even more dangerous compounds, sometimes with fatal results.

• The Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF) showed a doubling from 1991 to 1997 of the 12th graders who thought it would be "fairly easy" or "very easy" to get ecstasy if they wanted some.

• The 2000 MTF suggests that ecstasy is used by more American teenagers today than is cocaine.

Special Features