Ecstasy Popular among Teens Despite Dangerous Side Effects

This week a teenager the Sacramento area wrote to the local Sacramento Bee looking for information about ecstasy. According to this teenager, whose identity is limited to the pseudonym “Seeking Some Answers,” ecstasy or “E” is everywhere—at every party, kick-back, and other kind of social gathering. The teen relates that peers enthusiastically endorse the drug’s effects, saying it gives the user “tons of energy and incredible sensations.” Seeking Some Answers wants to know why the drug is so popular and what the risks are in using it.

Ecstasy first came to the attention of American mainstream culture in the 1990s. At first, experts weren’t sure how dangerous the drug might be, but study soon revealed far more danger than initially suspected. Though the drug’s notoriety seems to have waned in the popular media, based on the note from Seeking Some Answers, the drug appears to still be popular among young people.

The Sacramento Bee’s advice columnist, “Kelley,” responded to Seeking Some Answers with some of the well-known side-effects of the drug, including, “increased heart rate and blood pressure, muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, rapid eye movements, faintness and chills or excessive sweating…elevated body temperature, dehydration, seizures and possible cardiovascular and renal failure leading to coma and death.”

In addition to these symptoms, “users can get too hot and dehydrated, causing them to pass out. This can lead to seizures and death…some people, unaware of overheating, over-compensate by drinking too much water. No matter how much they drink, it's not enough. The water dilutes their blood and swells their brain, causing death.”

“Kelley” also related side effects of ecstasy that are less well-known, saying: “The drug also has potentially dangerous long-term psychotic effects. Research has shown it may cause confusion and memory loss, depression, anxiety, paranoia, mania, sleeplessness and psychotic episodes. This can occur weeks and even months after the drug has been used.” (Source: Sacbee.com)

posted by Vee @ 10:36 AM