Serotonin Ecstasy Drug MDMA (3-4-methylenedioxymethampheta-mine), Research Paper

Serotonin Ecstasy Drug MDMA (3-4-methylenedioxymethampheta-mine), - Research Paper Example It was termed as a youth epidemic and many cases of MDMA drug abuse were reported among youngsters. Following media reports and fatal cases of MDMA drug overdose, the drug was banned in 1985 in the US. Ecstasy has both beneficial and harmful effects. The question as to whether its benefits outweigh its harmful effects is yet to be answered. Research on the therapeutic benefits of ecstasy in humans is still in progress. The use of ecstasy is illegal and those found with the drug are heavily penalized or even jailed. This paper attempts to understand whether the criminalization and banning of the drug is justified. It argues that the drug can be exploited for various therapeutic uses and that it will do more good if released for public use. The paper further goes on to assert that criminalization of the drug is doing more harm than good. MDMA or ecstasy was first synthesized by Anton Kà ¶llisch in a Merck laboratory in 1912 (Ebitler para. 2). It was an intermediate product used in the manufacture of hydrastinine. It was patented by Merck in 1913 as a slimming agent or appetite suppressor but was not marketed by the company (IDMU para. 1). It was later used by Max Oberlin to induce adrenaline-like effects in animals. By the 1960s, it became known as the love drug because it was effective in inducing a â€Å"sense of empathy† and â€Å"deep introspective thought†, apart from â€Å"heightening the senses† (Ebitler para. 3). The effects of the drug were recorded in a book called Pihkal by Alexander Shulgin, who experimented with the drug himself (Ebitler). He recommended the potential therapeutic uses of the drug to his friend Leo Zeff, who was a psychotherapist. Soon, the drug became popular among psychotherapists for being beneficial in psychedelic therapy and in facilitating better diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric patients,