Dangers Of Ecstasy Essay, Research Paper

Dangers of Ecstasy

There are many dangers to taking ecstasy that people don t consider. All we think of is the feeling it gives you, the confidence to associate with people, total strangers even. But what does it really do to you. What good is all the happiness when all it is is a sham, a fairy tale that only exists in ones head. We all think it increases our social life, but it actually is decreasing it. Down the line, we eventually become too slow and basically too stupid to even have a social life. Taking ecstasy has many negatives we don t hear about. For example, if taken in a hot atmosphere, at a rave for example, it can cause heatstroke. In fact, there have been several deaths associated with ecstasy. Studies also suggest that it may damage certain brain cells, and using it for a long time could cause liver damage. Ecstasy can make people very friendly towards each other or give them a feeling of extra energy. Once the effect wears off, though, it can leave them feeling pretty miserable. It can also affect their body co-ordination, making it dangerous to do things like driving.

Taken in larger amounts, Ecstasy can cause feelings of anxiety or confusion, even paranoia.

People who use it regularly find it difficult to sleep. Some girls find that it makes their periods heavier.

And it is particularly dangerous for anyone who suffers from epileptic fits or any kind of heart condition. Ecstasy can also cause many symptoms of Parkinson disease after long-term use. There was a study with a man that was twenty-nine years old. He had taken ecstasy ten times over a two-year period. Three months after the last time he used ecstasy, he began have the symptoms of Parkinson. He had symptoms such as clumsiness, difficulty walking, and slow movements. Taking ecstasy blocks the level of serotonin that is produce in the brain, which cannot be good if it affects the brain in any way. Ecstasy combine with other drugs such as alcohol can do great harm to the liver and other internal organs. Because we think ecstasy is so great, we tend to combine it with every drug we can think of. Who knows what that effect can have on you? It tends to give you very bad judgment. You can end up taking many drugs you would not normally do. After the first few times the feeling of ecstasy tends to change on you. It doesn t feel as good at the first time. So sometimes you feel you should up the dosage or mix it with other drugs to maybe get the same feeling again. But it has been

proven that it alters some how and the same feeling can never be obtained the same feeling again. Some people do not know their toleration limit and can go overboard which leads to over dose and many other consequences.

Before I thought ecstasy had no effect on me. I felt I could talk it any time any day just as a social thing or when I was bored. Anywhere I would go or anything I would do was not ever good enough until we added a little Ecstasy to it to spice things up. But slowly I began to realize our so-called fun relied mainly on the ecstasy. I claimed that I went to raves for the music and dancing. There was no doubt I like the music and dancing, but it just wasn t the same with out the ecstasy. I tried to go sober a couple times to the raves and it just wasn t the same. In fact it was hell. It was very hot like a steam room. I could not even breathe and everyone looked like zombies. So I went back to ecstasy to experience my so-called fun. But then the scene started to fade; ecstasy was some how just not the same any more, we blamed it on the quality, new recipes many things accept ourselves. The feeling was so common to us by then we didn t know what was good anymore.

When school started it was a whole different story. I continued to use ecstasy and continued to go to the raves. I thought nothing of it not realizing I prioritized it over my schooling. College was a whole lot different. They didn t wait for you; you had to keep up with them. But I couldn t do that. My attention span was very short. I felt sleepy and drowsy sitting through the lectures. My mind would sometimes just blank out while the instructor is lecturing. It wouldn t daze off to other things or anything like that. It would literally just blank out. When I finally do return to reality, I would not know a thing the instructor was talking about. But that is the have of it. This would happen if I were lucky enough to even be in class. Most the time I don t even make it to school, and if I did, you can usually find me in the center pod lounging with a bunch of other zoned out clueless students. I didn t realize the consequences until it was too late. I ended up failing all of my classes and end up not returning to this school. Ecstasy has many legal matters involved as well. Believe me it is not fun, but if caught with ecstasy, it is something you will have to face though. It will interfere with many things in a person s life. Time off for work will have to be taken. How can someone explain why he or she need so much? Time off to go to court. Can

you really tell everyone you got busted for drugs? It is very embarrassing and can even lead to your termination. Besides that, all the money you lose from lost wages lawyer s fees, and court fees that can reach its way up to the thousands. But the worst thing it can do to you is not only taking away your education, but take away what you already know. People have that old saying, the older the wiser , but with ecstasy it can only be the opposite.

There are many dangers to ecstasy, not only physically and mentally, but socially as well. Many aspects of your life are put to a halt and sometimes into reverse. So I ask myself, Is it really worth it?