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According to the Edmonton (Canada) medical examiner's office, the effects of ecstasy are highly unpredictable. The same dosage may cause euphoria in one individual and brain damage and/or death in another. Although ecstasy-related deaths are rare, experts have not been able to correlate the effects of the drug with dosage. A single casual usage can cause significant brain damage. In addition, young women seem to be more susceptible to ecstasy overdose, but experts aren't sure why.

An overdose of ecstasy can cause death in at least three different ways: it can increase blood pressure to the point that a blood vessel ruptures, usually in the brain; it can cause hyperthermia (an increase in body temperature) to the point of death; and it can cause the brain to swell resulting in brain damage.

In addition to significant variability in how ecstasy affects different people, many ecstasy pills are homemade. These pills vary widely in their potency and contain an inconsistent variety of substances. Martin Davies, a pharmacologist at the University of Alberta, comments: "Ecstasy tablets can have all sorts of other drugs in them. ... That's part of the reason they're so dangerous. Some ecstasy tablets can contain no ecstasy whatsoever."

(Sources: www.edmontonjournal.com)

Labels: ecstasy, brain damage

Posted By: Aspen Education Group