Ecstasy Mdma
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DMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine), most commonly known today by the street name ecstasy (often abbreviated E, X, or XTC), is a semisynthetic member of the phenethylamine class of psychoactive drugs. MDMA is unique in that it is one of the few popular recreational drugs that falls under many broad categories of substances, including amphetamines/stimulants, psychedelics, and the empathogenic-enactogens.
The drug is well known for its ability to produce feelings of overwhelming euphoria, a strong sense of intimacy with others, and pronounced overall civility, and is commonly associated with the rave culture and its related genres of music. MDMA has also been used in clinical settings to aid in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and in marriage counseling amongst other things, and its potential medical uses are once again being evaluated.
Today, however, drug prohibitionists and critics within the medical community now hold that based on a body of recent research, MDMA may lead to neurotoxic damage of the central nervous system, the reversibility of which is yet to be fully-determined, and that due to this and other risks, its use is inherently unsafe. Despite an overall lack of scientific consensus on the drugs dangers, to the end of trying to prevent its use, MDMA has been criminalized in most countries, and its possession, manufacture, or sale may result in criminal prosecution.
Its widespread illegality notwithstanding, MDMA is today one of the most commonly-used illicit drugs in the world, as it is now taken in a variety of contexts far-removed from its rave scene roots.