ecstasy- an israeli new millennium gift to the world
TRANSCRIPT
Research By:
Syed Haroon Haider Gilani
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Ecstasy - an Israeli New Millennium Gift to the
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Preface Recently I saw ads on internet offering one of the best selling drug around the globe today, called
Ecstasy in Pakistan which is so far safe from this Jewish product and chemical weapon to destroy
entire generation. I have observed the use of this destroyer in UAE, Singapore and in Italy where this
is the fashion symbol now in parties and pleasure consequently entitled as "the Party drug" or " The
Love Drug".
I am off the opinion that Pakistan is not a lucrative market for Ecstasy at all due to its high price and
lower intoxication and tranquility as compared to Heroin, opium and Hashish etc.
Besides my opinion that Pakistan is not an attractive market for Ecstasy, the main threat to its
popularity is because of variety of reasons including that the masterminds behind Ecstasy Trade are
Israeli Jews who are " innovative, industrious and entrepreneurers who always find ways to create
and develop markets for their products. Secondly we always import our social trends and fashion
from West where Ecstasy is now in the top line.
For the case of Ecstasy, profits are enormous. It costs 15 to 25 cents to produce one Ecstasy tablet,
which by the time a drug dealer sells it at a disco or on a college campus, it can fetch between $25
and $40. In Pakistan wide consumption can lead to enormous profits too due to the restively high
drug addiction rate with numbers exceeding 7 million drug addicts in 2005, touching 10 million in
2009. According to the Director Anti-Narcotic Force Anwar Hafeez, Pakistan has the highest number
of drug addicts in the world. Initiator Human Development Foundation, Initiator Human
Development Foundation in 2008 claimed that only in Karachi over 2 million youth and children drug
addicts while drug trafficking is prevailing in every part of the city.
In Karachi and other major cities of Pakistan the main addiction is of Hashish, because this drug is
easily available at every nook and corner of the city. Drug supply is available all around the city
through those street children. Drug usage in education institutes, parties and ceremonies is now
common and becoming a fashion rapidly in upper class and mode of mental relaxation for
suppressed middle and lower classes. Smoking hashish (charas) has become popular among
youngsters, especially girls, as it is easily available and has become a symbol of modernity. Earlier,
primarily boys were smoking hashish but now girls are also using it frequently.
A psychiatrist from Adil Hospital in Defense said that smoking drugs in cigarettes had been very
common in the West but now this had penetrated our society as well. He said that teenagers
claiming that they were able to concentrate better after smoking hashish were mistaken. He said
that habitual smokers of hashish became moody and developed a volition syndrome, which made
them less certain about their life. He added that a continuous use caused a personality change.
In such scenario, all social, economical, educational and political circles, organizations and
individuals with the realization of already drug polluted country must stand up to fight the threat
which is not turning its face towards, Pakistan and education and awareness to be widely, properly
and timely be spread across the nation before the trouble begins here.
Weapon of mass destruction
Ecstasy ("E", "X", "XTC") is a term used to refer to a type of illicit street
one or more
intended for
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
itself) is the primary active agent, though such tablets may contain other
compounds as well; MDMA may b
tablet.
Apart from their differing chemical composition, tablets are differentiated
by size, shape, color, and imprinted design. Tablets will typically be identified by
as "Blue Mitsubishi", and "Purple
Harms of Ecstasy
A paper published in medical journal
in the U.K. (based on potential for physical harm and risk of addiction). To put this into
context, heroin was the most harmful,
MDMA, known widely as Ecstasy, is used by young people to produce hallucinogenic and
amphetamine-like effects. New research has found that even a small amount of Ecstasy can be
harmful to the brain even with first
Radiologists at the Academic Medical Center at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands
conducted the first study of low dosages of the drug on first
blood circulation in some areas of t
Maartje de Win, M.D., in a news release. "In addition, we found a relative decrease in verbal
memory performance in ecstasy users compared to non
percent of all high school seniors have taken ecstasy at least once. People who use ecstasy for the
Weapon of mass destruction, Ecstasy
") is a term used to refer to a type of illicit street tablet or party drug
one or more different psychoactive drugs sold on the black market
intended for recreational uses.
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; commonly called Ecstasy
itself) is the primary active agent, though such tablets may contain other
compounds as well; MDMA may be entirely absent from an "Ecstasy"
tablet.
Apart from their differing chemical composition, tablets are differentiated
by size, shape, color, and imprinted design. Tablets will typically be identified by
as "Blue Mitsubishi", and "Purple Buddha".
A paper published in medical journal The Lancet ranked "Ecstasy" as the 18th most dangerous drug
in the U.K. (based on potential for physical harm and risk of addiction). To put this into
was the most harmful, cocaine second, alcohol fifth and cannabis
MDMA, known widely as Ecstasy, is used by young people to produce hallucinogenic and
like effects. New research has found that even a small amount of Ecstasy can be
even with first-time users.
Radiologists at the Academic Medical Center at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands
conducted the first study of low dosages of the drug on first-time users. "We found a decrease in
blood circulation in some areas of the brain in young adults who just started to use ecstasy," said
in a news release. "In addition, we found a relative decrease in verbal
memory performance in ecstasy users compared to non-users." In the U.S., it is estimated that 5.4
percent of all high school seniors have taken ecstasy at least once. People who use ecstasy for the
or party drug containing
black market and
(MDMA; commonly called Ecstasy
itself) is the primary active agent, though such tablets may contain other
e entirely absent from an "Ecstasy"
Apart from their differing chemical composition, tablets are differentiated
street names such
ranked "Ecstasy" as the 18th most dangerous drug
in the U.K. (based on potential for physical harm and risk of addiction). To put this into
cannabis eleventh.
MDMA, known widely as Ecstasy, is used by young people to produce hallucinogenic and
like effects. New research has found that even a small amount of Ecstasy can be
Radiologists at the Academic Medical Center at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands
time users. "We found a decrease in
he brain in young adults who just started to use ecstasy," said
in a news release. "In addition, we found a relative decrease in verbal
users." In the U.S., it is estimated that 5.4
percent of all high school seniors have taken ecstasy at least once. People who use ecstasy for the
first time could suffer impaired memory and harm to their brains, a new study of the dance drug's
effects reveals. Even low doses can cause changes to the brain,
According to James Randerson, science correspondent, The Guardian, in his article about this study,
on Tuesday 28 November 2006 says, "The drug's effects are thought to come from disruption of the
regulation of serotonin, a brain chemical believed to play a role in mood and memory."
Dr de Win's team selected 77 men and 111 women who had never used the drug before. The
group's average age at the start of the study was 21. The researchers performed brain scans to
measure blood flow in different parts of the brain and subjected the volunteers to various
psychological tests.
Eighteen months later, the team looked at 59 of the original study group who admitted to
subsequently trying the drug and 56 who had stayed off it. The users had taken a total of six pills on
average. By repeating the tests, the team found subtle changes to cell architecture and decreased
blood flow in some brain regions. They also found the ecstasy users performed worse than the non-
users on memory tests. There was no indication that the drug affected the users' mood or had an
effect on serotonin-producing neurons.
Previous research has shown that long-term or heavy ecstasy use can damage serotonin-dependent
neurons and cause depression, anxiety, confusion, difficulty sleeping and decrease in memory. But
this is the first study to look at the effects of low doses of the drug on first-time users.
Physical Harms
In a recent report (a review of its harms and classification under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971) to the
Home Secretary of United Kingdom, by Professor David Nutt FmedSci, The Chairman of The Advisory
Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), the harms of Ecstasy are detailed as:
- There have been more than 200 reported ecstasy-related deaths in the UK over the last 15
years, with 43 in 2001 in England and Wales alone.
- MDMA has undoubted harms, causing direct toxicity especially when taken in high doses.
However, many of the other physical harms of MDMA are associated with behaviours in
which the users subsequently engage, such as energetic dancing for long periods.
- Published literature provides a heterogeneous picture, with case reports detailing acute
complications including death occurring after limited exposure (including consumption of a
single tablet) (Rogers et al., 2009). Presentations to accident and emergency departments
after taking MDMA are usually associated with poly-substance use (80% with alcohol, 24%
cocaine and 21% ketamine) (Dargan, 2008).
- Admission data from Newcastle (Dargan, 2008) show that the number of admissions due to
MDMA between 2000 and 2007 varies between 22 and 35 per year. This is compared with
around 15 per year for amphetamines and, following a recent increase, over 30 per year for
cocaine. Data from presentations to St Thomas’ Hospital, London (2005 to 2008) show that,
for those agents classed as recreational drugs, MDMA was the third most common drug
behind cocaine and GHB, being involved in a total of 382 presentations (Dargan, 2008).
However, of these MDMA presentations, only 52 were as sole drug; 85% involved
co‑ingestants, of which alcohol, GHB and ketamine were the most common.
- The total number of admissions to hospital due to MDMA (alone or in combination) is not
known. But, if the data provided by St Thomas’ and Newcastle hospitals are considered
indicative, it is likely to be of the order of several thousand per year. By way of comparison,
there were over 57,000 recorded hospital admissions in 2006/07 with a primary diagnosis of
alcohol poisoning and 846 with a primary diagnosis of cannabis poisoning (Department of
Health/National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, 2008). Estimates for all hospital
admissions to which alcohol contributes are over 800,000 per year with over 200,000
admissions with alcohol-specific conditions.
- Data obtained from the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) show that among Class
A drugs MDMA, historically, has been the most common drug of misuse where information
has been accessed (National Poisons Information Service, 2008). However, the proportion of
telephone enquiries related to MDMA acute toxicity fell sharply between 2004/05 and
2006/07. In contrast, the proportion of those enquiries relating to cocaine has increased
over the same period and is currently a more common drug for enquiry than MDMA
(National Poisons Information Service, 2008). The NPIS data, however, are limited in
providing any indication of the true incidence of toxicity cases.
- MDMA overdose has a profile of toxicity similar to, but with somewhat less severe outcomes
than that seen with amphetamines and cocaine (Dargan, 2008). Cardiovascular effects
(elevated blood pressure and heart rate) are prominent and consistent with the
amphetamine-like nature of MDMA; epileptic seizures are sometimes seen. Cocaine has a
similar toxicity profile, but has a higher rate of cardiac problems associated, especially
myocardial infarction, particularly when taken with alcohol (Devlin and Henry, 2008). On
rare occasions, use of amphetamines, cocaine and MDMA can lead to intracerebral and
subarachnoid haemorrhage (Gledhill et al., 1993; McEvoy et al., 2000) and it would appear
that, in the majority of reported cases, the haemorrhage appeared to be related to an
underlying vascular malformation.
- MDMA is often taken in night/dance clubs and settings where the temperature may already
be high and the individual is engaged in prolonged dancing. These factors, coupled with
MDMA use, can be dangerous, especially if associated with dehydration – sometimes leading
to exertional hyperpyrexia/hyperthermia (raised body temperature). This was the
explanation for some of the first MDMA fatalities which occurred in dance clubs when users
had danced for prolonged periods in high temperatures while drinking very little water. In
1996, the ACMD acted on these incidents and issued advice to Ministers and suggested
guidance to users to ensure adequate hydration when dancing for long periods (Advisory
Council on the Misuse of Drugs, 1996). This was coupled with guidance to local authorities
and club owners to provide free water and ‘chill-out’ rooms, to reduce such incidents. New
safe clubbing guidelines – Safer Nightlife – have recently been issued by the London Drug
Policy Forum (2008).
- Water intoxication (with secondary low blood sodium levels – hyponatraemia) is a condition
also associated with the use of MDMA. This can be as a result of excessive water intake, in
an attempt to prevent dehydration after taking MDMA. In some people, MDMA may cause
excessive secretion of antidiuretic hormone, which makes the kidneys retain water, so
aggravating the consequences of excessive water intake (Devlin and Henry, 2008).
- Data presented to the ACMD identified nine published case reports of fatalities due to
hyponatraemia between 1997 and 2002 and one in 2006 (Rogers et al., 2009). Twenty-four
case series or case reports involving non-fatal hyponatraemia were also identified. All fatal
cases were in women aged between 16 and 21. The propensity for women to be
disproportionately affected is probably due to the lower
women.
- Cases of acute liver injury (hepatitis) are occasionally reported. These can be secondary to
hyperthermia or caused by direct hepatotoxicity from the drug; in the latter case, it may re
occur if MDMA is taken
- The National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (np
Mortality Register (SMR). The dataset is unlikely to be fully complete as it records the
voluntary submissions of coroners
in the way coroners, or their pathologists, incorporate findings. The General Mortality
Register (GMR) is a database maintained by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) based on
information from death certificates an
the information recorded by the coroner. Full toxicological data on all of the drugs detected
at post-mortem are not always cited on the death certificate, and in some situations it can
be difficult to ascribe the drug(s) responsible for the death (Hickman et al., 2007).
- Between 1999 and 2001, the data from the GMR show a rise in drugrelated
‘ecstasy’ was the sole drug mentioned. Thereafter,
‘ecstasy’ reached a plateau while both
related deaths continued to
- Data from the np-SAD for the period 1997 to 2006 recorded that MDMA
mean of 50 deaths per year and around 10 where it
al., 2009). Data from ONS using
deaths per year where MDMA is implicated and 17 where it was considered the sole drug
disproportionately affected is probably due to the lower ratio of body water
Cases of acute liver injury (hepatitis) are occasionally reported. These can be secondary to
hyperthermia or caused by direct hepatotoxicity from the drug; in the latter case, it may re
again (Devlin and Henry, 2008).
The National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (np-SAD) maintains the Special
Mortality Register (SMR). The dataset is unlikely to be fully complete as it records the
voluntary submissions of coroners’ reports for England and Wales and there are differences
in the way coroners, or their pathologists, incorporate findings. The General Mortality
Register (GMR) is a database maintained by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) based on
information from death certificates and coroners’ reports. Accuracy of the dataset relies on
the information recorded by the coroner. Full toxicological data on all of the drugs detected
mortem are not always cited on the death certificate, and in some situations it can
ascribe the drug(s) responsible for the death (Hickman et al., 2007).
Between 1999 and 2001, the data from the GMR show a rise in drugrelated
was the sole drug mentioned. Thereafter, the number of deaths attributed to
ched a plateau while both cocaine- and, to a lesser extent, amphetamine
related deaths continued to rise (Figure 1).
SAD for the period 1997 to 2006 recorded that MDMA
mean of 50 deaths per year and around 10 where it was considered the sole drug (Rogers et
al., 2009). Data from ONS using the GMR in the period 1993 to 2006 record a mean 33
where MDMA is implicated and 17 where it was considered the sole drug
ratio of body water to body mass in
Cases of acute liver injury (hepatitis) are occasionally reported. These can be secondary to
hyperthermia or caused by direct hepatotoxicity from the drug; in the latter case, it may re-
SAD) maintains the Special
Mortality Register (SMR). The dataset is unlikely to be fully complete as it records the
and Wales and there are differences
in the way coroners, or their pathologists, incorporate findings. The General Mortality
Register (GMR) is a database maintained by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) based on
reports. Accuracy of the dataset relies on
the information recorded by the coroner. Full toxicological data on all of the drugs detected
mortem are not always cited on the death certificate, and in some situations it can
ascribe the drug(s) responsible for the death (Hickman et al., 2007).
Between 1999 and 2001, the data from the GMR show a rise in drugrelated deaths, where
the number of deaths attributed to
and, to a lesser extent, amphetamine-
SAD for the period 1997 to 2006 recorded that MDMA was implicated in a
was considered the sole drug (Rogers et
the GMR in the period 1993 to 2006 record a mean 33
where MDMA is implicated and 17 where it was considered the sole drug
(Table 3) (Rogers et al., 2009). The differen
due to the differences in data reporting and data
- Table 3 shows the number of drug
or as one of the drugs involved. There are fewer
other Class A drugs (such as
due to amphetamines.
- Data from the General Register Office for Scotland (GRO) show that, between 1995 and
2007, there was an average of 2.5 deaths a year which involved only
‘ecstasy-type’ drugs, or only these and alcohol (General Register for Scotland, 2007).
- Np-SAD data suggest that, for those deaths where MDMA has been
individuals tend to be younger with a greater likelihood of
contrast to those deaths where amphetamine
implicated also tend to be more
with heroin and methadone use than those from amphetamines.
- It is particularly difficult to estimate the risk of taking any given MDMA
of information on the average level of consumption
between tablet intake and incre
number of ‘ecstasy’ users. For example, in 1995/96 a 25
‘ecstasy’-related death among 15 to 24
users (Gore, 1999). Equally, if we assume that there
that approximately 60 million
risk of death per person and per tablet is: one in 39,000 and one in 1.8 million
all deaths mentioning ‘ecstasy
respectively, if only those deaths solely
- In attempting to quantify the intrinsic fatal toxicity risk of MDMA, as
of deaths to availability, we looked at mortality data
2007. Three separate measures
as the total number of cases in which the drug was mentioned
by, respectively: (i) the number of users of that drug (T1). The
year-olds) was derived from the BCS (Home
estimated number of users in the last year ov
enforcement agencies (T2). Drug seizure data were taken from Home
estimates of the market size of each drug in
derived from Home Office data
(Table 3) (Rogers et al., 2009). The difference between the GMR and np-SAD figures will be
due to the differences in data reporting and data sources used.
Table 3 shows the number of drug-related deaths for selected causes either as the sole drug
or as one of the drugs involved. There are fewer deaths implicating MDMA than several
other Class A drugs (such as heroin, methadone and cocaine) and a similar number of deaths
Data from the General Register Office for Scotland (GRO) show that, between 1995 and
erage of 2.5 deaths a year which involved only ‘ecstasy
drugs, or only these and alcohol (General Register for Scotland, 2007).
SAD data suggest that, for those deaths where MDMA has been implicated, the
ounger with a greater likelihood of being employed. This is in
contrast to those deaths where amphetamine is implicated. Fatalities where
implicated also tend to be more associated with concurrent alcohol and cocaine use and less
nd methadone use than those from amphetamines.
It is particularly difficult to estimate the risk of taking any given MDMA dose due to the lack
of information on the average level of consumption and dose-response relationship
between tablet intake and increased risk of overdose, as well as uncertainty surrounding the
users. For example, in 1995/96 a 25-fold range was estimated for
related death among 15 to 24-year-olds of between one in 2,000
. Equally, if we assume that there are 1.2 million adult
that approximately 60 million tablets are consumed annually (Home Office, 2006a) then the
death per person and per tablet is: one in 39,000 and one in 1.8 million
ecstasy’ are included; and one in 76,000 and one in 3.5 million
respectively, if only those deaths solely mentioning ‘ecstasy’ are included.
In attempting to quantify the intrinsic fatal toxicity risk of MDMA, as measured by
of deaths to availability, we looked at mortality data from the ONS for the period 2003 to
2007. Three separate measures of an index of fatal toxicity (T1, T2 and T38) were calculated
number of cases in which the drug was mentioned on death certificates9
by, respectively: (i) the number of users of that drug (T1). The number of users (16 to 59
olds) was derived from the BCS (Home Office, 2004; 2005b; 2006b; 2007) based on the
of users in the last year over the same period; (ii) seizures by law
enforcement agencies (T2). Drug seizure data were taken from Home Office (2008); and (iii)
estimates of the market size of each drug in England and Wales (T3). Market size was
derived from Home Office data (Home Office, 2006b). The data were then normalised such
SAD figures will be
either as the sole drug
deaths implicating MDMA than several
heroin, methadone and cocaine) and a similar number of deaths
Data from the General Register Office for Scotland (GRO) show that, between 1995 and
ecstasy’, or only
drugs, or only these and alcohol (General Register for Scotland, 2007).
implicated, the
being employed. This is in
is implicated. Fatalities where ‘ecstasy’ is
associated with concurrent alcohol and cocaine use and less
dose due to the lack
response relationship
of overdose, as well as uncertainty surrounding the
fold range was estimated for
olds of between one in 2,000 and one in 50,000
are 1.2 million adult ‘ecstasy’ users and
tablets are consumed annually (Home Office, 2006a) then the
death per person and per tablet is: one in 39,000 and one in 1.8 million respectively, if
76,000 and one in 3.5 million
are included.
measured by the ratio
from the ONS for the period 2003 to
of an index of fatal toxicity (T1, T2 and T38) were calculated
on death certificates9 divided
number of users (16 to 59-
Office, 2004; 2005b; 2006b; 2007) based on the
er the same period; (ii) seizures by law
Office (2008); and (iii)
England and Wales (T3). Market size was
ice, 2006b). The data were then normalised such
that, for each scale, heroin = 1,000. Values of T1, T2 and T3 are listed in Table 4. For each
scale, amphetamine, MDMA and cocaine have a broadly similar fatal toxicity, which is
considerably lower than that of heroin.
- A study of all drug-related deaths in Scotland during the 1990s found that every death where
MDMA was involved was reported in the newspapers (Forsyth, 2001). Deaths due to other
drugs were much less likely to be reported; for example, only one in 50 were reported for
diazepam and for amphetamine it was one in three. The skewed reporting of ‘ecstasy’
against the landscape of other drug-related harms and deaths is a real phenomenon and
may heavily impact on public perception.
Societal harms
- While MDMA clearly can have a major impact on some users and their families, there are
few data suggesting negative impacts on society when directly compared with the other
widely used Class A drugs, namely heroin and cocaine. Policing priorities in relation to
possession (as discussed in Section 3) appear to reflect this.
- MDMA users are more likely to be in employment than heroin, cocaine and amphetamine
users (Rogers et al., 2009) and usually fund their drug purchases from their own income
rather than from acquisitive crime (Association of Chief Police Officers, 2008).
- In contrast to alcohol and stimulants, there are few public order offences deriving solely
from the use of MDMA (Association of Chief Police Officers, 2008).
- ‘Ecstasy’ use has been implicated in only a very small proportion of serious sexual assault
cases (0.65%) (ACPO, pers comm., 2008). Compared to ‘ecstasy’, there are over four times as
many recorded victims of serious sexual assault under the influence of heroin and nearly
three times as many under the influence of cocaine. In cases where the perpetrators are
recorded as being, or are believed to be, under the influence of ‘ecstasy’, the figures for
‘ecstasy’ and heroin are similar.
- There is evidence of the involvement of organised crime in the trafficking of MDMA both
into and within the UK. There is less certainty with regard to the relative extent to which
organised criminal groups specialise in such commodity dealing or whether the trafficking of
MDMA is part of the multi-commodity nature of organised crime where profit and risk are
assessed against both the commodity and the market. At a local level, supply of MDMA is
prominently, though not exclusively, based within the night club environment.
- It is not known what impact, if any, the classification of MDMA as Class A has on criminal
activity. Downgrading would reduce the maximium sentence for production or supply from
life to 14 years. However, data suggest that downgrading would not require concomitant
provision of greater leniency by the judiciary, as in 2006 there was not one case of
possession with intent to supply where the sentence given exceeded 10 years. Whether
separating MDMA from other Class A drugs could have health and societal benefits through
separating drug markets and reducing ‘one-stop-shop’ drug dealers that encourage heroin
and crack cocaine/cocaine use has been suggested, but is not certain.
History of Ecstasy
MDMA was first synthesized in 1912 by Merck chemist Anton Köllisch. At the time, Merck was
interested in developing substances that stopped abnormal bleeding. Merck wanted to evade an
existing patent, held by Bayer, for one such compound - hydrastinine. At the behest of his
superiors Walther Beckh and Otto Wolfes, Köllisch developed a preparation of a
hydrastinine analogue, methyl hydrastinine. MDMA was an intermediate compound in the synthesis
of methyl hydrastinine, and Merck was not interested in its properties at the time. On December
24, 1912 Merck filed two patent applications that described the synthesis of MDMA[8] and its
subsequent conversion to methyl hydrastinine.
Over the following 65 years, MDMA was largely forgotten. Merck records indicate that
its researchers returned to the compound sporadically. In 1927, Max Oberlin studied the
pharmacology of MDMA and observed that its effects on blood sugar and smooth muscles were
similar to ephedrine's, but that, in contrast, MDMA did not appear to produce pupil dilation.
Researchers at Merck conducted experiments with MDMA in 1952 and 1959. In 1953 and 1954,
the United States Army commissioned a study of toxicity and behavioral effects in
animals of injected mescaline and several analogues, including MDMA. These
originally classified investigations were declassified and published in 1973. The first scientific
paper on MDMA appeared in 1958 in Yakugaku Zasshi, the Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society of
Japan. In this paper, Yutaka Kasuya described the synthesis of MDMA, a part of his research
on antispasmodics.
Emergence of "Ecstasy", the Love Drug
MDMA first appeared as a street drug in the early 1970s after its counterculture analogue, MDA,
became criminalized in the United States in 1970. In the mid-1970s, Alexander Shulgin, then
at University of California, heard from his students about unusual effects of MDMA; among others,
the drug had helped one of them to overcome his stutter. Intrigued, Shulgin synthesized MDMA and
tried it himself in 1976. Two years later, he and David Nichols published the first report on the
drug's psychotropic effect in humans. They described "altered state of consciousness with emotional
and sensual overtones" that can be compared "to marijuana, to psilocybin devoid of the
hallucinatory component".
Shulgin took to occasionally using MDMA for relaxation, referring to it as "my low-calorie martini",
and giving the drug to his friends, researchers, and other people whom he thought could benefit
from it. One such person was psychotherapist Leo Zeff, who had been known to use psychedelics in
his practice. Zeff was so impressed with the action of MDMA that he came out of his semi-
retirement to proselytize for it. Over the following years, Zeff traveled around the U.S. and
occasionally to Europe training other psychotherapists in the use of MDMA. Among underground
psychotherapists, MDMA developed a reputation for enhancing communication during clinical
sessions, reducing patients' psychological defenses, and increasing capacity for
therapeutic introspection.
Due to the wording of the United Kingdom's existing Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971, MDMA was
automatically classified in the U.K. as a Class A drug in 1977.
In the early 1980s in the U.S., MDMA rose to prominence as "Adam" in trendy nightclubs and gay
dance clubs in the Dallas area. From there, use spread to raves in major cities around the country,
and then to mainstream society. The drug was first proposed for scheduling by the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) in July 1984 and was classified as a Schedule I controlled
substance in the U.S. on May 31, 1985.
In the late 1980s MDMA, as "ecstasy", began to be widely used in the U.K. and other parts of Europe,
becoming an integral element of rave culture and other psychedelic- and dance-floor-
influenced music scenes, such as Madchester and Acid House. Spreading along with rave culture,
illicit MDMA use became increasingly widespread among young adults in universities and later
in high schools. MDMA became one of the four most widely used illicit drugs in the U.S., along
with cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. According to some estimates as of 2004,
only marijuana attracts more first time users in the U.S.
After MDMA was criminalized, most medical use stopped, although some therapists continued to
prescribe the drug illegally. Later Charles Grob initiated an ascending-dose safety study in healthy
volunteers. Subsequent legally-approved MDMA studies in humans have taken place in the U.S.
in Detroit (Wayne State University), Chicago (University of Chicago), San Francisco (UCSF
and California Pacific Medical Center), Baltimore (NIDA-NIH Intramural Program), and South
Carolina, as well as in Switzerland (University Hospital of Psychiatry, Zürich), the
Netherlands (Maastricht University), and Spain (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona).
In the mid-to-late 1990s—when the emergence of a massive market for ecstasy reconfigured the
power structure of the world drug market, Israel is at the center of international trade in the drug
ecstasy, according to the U.S. State Department. Ecstasy, along with marijuana, hashish, heroin, and
cocaine, is heavily used and traded in Israel today, in what some call a sign of the times.
Contemporary Israel is an affluent, drug-consuming country-with an estimated 300,000 casual drug
users and some 20,000 junkies. In 2000 alone, police confiscated 270,000 Ecstasy tablets from
smugglers, students, and partygoers in a series of stings. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
estimates, more than 15 million junkies reside. But they add up to serious drug problems, especially
among Israeli youth-and have led to commando-style raids in tree-lined residential neighborhoods of
Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv. According to a report of the United Nations Office for Drug Control
and Crime Prevention, 75 percent of all crime in Israel is drug-related.
Since its first appearance in the 1990s in Tel Aviv's bohemian Schenken Street and "Florentine"
neighborhoods, Ecstasy spread rapidly to discos and popular hotspots. "Israeli kids embraced the
warm, feel-good sensation they got from the drug," said a Tel Aviv cop, "and it didn't have to be
injected or snorted." Possession of Ecstasy is a felony in Israel with penalties of up to 20 years in
prison. But as the Jerusalem Post has reported, Israeli law-enforcement officials tend to target the
dealers, leaving the weekend rave parties alone. The young men and women consuming Ecstasy in
clubs in Tel Aviv and other parts of the country represent a new breed of Israeli, raised on the
pursuit of pleasures glimpsed in shopping malls or on cable TV, rather than on an ethos of self-
sacrifice and the greater "Zionist good".
Ecstasy Trade
Israeli dealers are not content only with local distribution, however. Working with Dutch and Belgian
criminal connections, they were instrumental in marketing the drug and creating the demand in
Europe and throughout the world, according to DEA agents working in Europe. They used Western
Europe as a hub to distribute Ecstasy globally, since the pill-making technology and the chemicals
required to make the drug could easily be found in the Netherlands and Belgium. With their existing
smuggling networks, the Israelis easily "flooded the market in Europe, in Israel, and in the United
States," according to a federal U.S. law enforcement official in the Netherlands, "and once the
customers asked for more, you could almost print the money yourself."
The Ecstasy profits are enormous. It costs 15 to 25 cents to produce one Ecstasy tablet, which
wholesalers will sell for $2 a pill. Distributors sell it for $10 to $15 a pill, and by the time a drug
dealer sells it at a disco or on a college campus, it can fetch between $25 and $40. Thus, a $100,000
investment by an organized crime group can, in a matter of weeks, earn more than $5 million. Labs
can manufacture some 100,000 tablets in a few days.
Manufacturing
Street "Ecstasy" could contain just about anything. It is generally manufactured in clandestine labs
by criminal drug dealers, not chemists. Ecstasy usually comes in tablets, which have been found to
contain anywhere from 0-50% MDMA. The most common non-MDMA ingredients in "Ecstasy" are
aspirin, caffeine, and other over-the-counter medications.
One of the most dangerous additives commonly found in "Ecstasy" is DXM (dextromethorphan,) a
cough suppressant. In the doses usually found in fake Ecstasy, 13 to 14 times the amount found in
cough syrup, DXM can cause hallucinations. DXM inhibits sweating, so it can cause heatstroke and
death. Another dangerous adulterant in so-called Ecstasy is PMA (paramethoxyamphetamine), an
illegal drug that is a potent hallucinogen. Like MDMA, PMA causes an elevation in body temperature,
but at an even more drastic rate.
Ecstasy tablets may be any color, and are generally embossed with a logo or design such as a
butterfly, heart, lightning bolt, star, clover, or Zodiac sign. Ecstasy is sometimes found in powder or
in capsules.
Though manufacturing ecstasy isn't child's play, most any serviceable chemist can make the drug,
given the appropriate equipment and supplies. It's much easier to produce than LSD, for example.
The problem in the United States is that law enforcement tends to monitor the purchase of the
precursor chemicals required to synthesize ecstasy. Chemical-supply companies often tip off the
Drug Enforcement Administration when a customer purchases, say, an unusually large amount of
isosafrole or MDP2P, two critical ingredients in ecstasy recipes. DEA agents sometimes pose as
chemical salesmen in order to bust suspected ecstasy cooks. Such a sting operation led to the 2002
arrest of four New England men who were later indicted on charges of manufacturing tens of
thousands of pills in a Connecticut trailer.
In view of this crucial situation for manufacturing, ecstasy is produced primarily in Dutch and Belgian
labs-ranging from industrial-sized plants and mobile labs hidden inside trucks or on floating barges,
to basements underneath farms and factories and more than 90 percent of the ecstasy in the U.S.
comes from the Netherlands and Belgium. Drug labs have been found in barns, mobile homes, motel
rooms, houseboats, mini-storage units, and basements of ordinary homes. Unlike real
pharmaceutical laboratories, these labs have no guidelines for cleanliness or scientific procedures.
Even if no adulterants are purposely added to the mix, any number of contaminants could enter the
product due to the inadequate facilities and filthy conditions.
In the past year, about 50 labs were dismantled by police in Holland and Belgium, but they keep
springing up in new locations, DEA agents in Belgium say. The massive production of ecstasy in
Europe, particularly in and around the Dutch city Maastricht, is causing tensions between
transatlantic law enforcement officials and policymakers. Experts say they do not expect production
to fall soon despite attempts by the Dutch government to find and destroy the labs. Ecstasy
manufacturers are now moving into Eastern Europe where precursor chemicals are easily available.
Labs have recently been found in Poland, Bulgaria and Russia. The profits can be huge. According to
the DEA, the initial investment needed for an ecstasy production lab can be less than 30,000. Each
tablet costs between 10 and 20p to produce and in America can be sold for 30, several times more
than in the UK.
Europe has become one of the biggest drug-producing regions in the world, according to new
ecstasy seizure statistics from the US. The figures from the American Drugs Enforcement
Administration reveal that more than 10 million ecstasy tablets were seized in the US last year, of
which 80 per cent were manufactured in Europe.
The statistics reveal the boom in ecstasy production and export from Europe. In 2000, 27.5 million
ecstasy tablets were among 10,000 kilos of drugs produced in Europe and seized overseas. In Europe
17m tablets were seized in 2000, 50 per cent more than in 1999.
In recent months there have been seizures of European ecstasy in Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand,
Mexico, Suriname and Brazil.
Distribution of Ecstasy
The most commonly heard estimate is that Israeli criminals control no less than 75 percent of the
Ecstasy market in the U.S. According to a report issued in 2003 by the U.S. State Department, Israel
is at the center of international trafficking in Ecstasy and Israeli crime organizations, some of them
linked to similar organizations from Russia, achieved a dominant status in the Ecstasy market in
Europe, and went on to control the drug's distribution in the States. "Israeli drug-trafficking
organizations are the main source of distribution of the drug to groups in the U.S, using express mail
services, commercial airlines, and recently also using air cargo services," the report states.
Packaged pills are sent overseas through a variety of methods. Air parcel companies, such as FedEx
and UPS, are among the most popular. Israeli dispatchers will drive through Holland, Belgium, and
Luxembourg, stopping off to ship their packages, according to drug task force detectives in New
York. "The Israelis are veterans. Some served in elite units and intelligence units," said a New York
narcotics agent. "They know all the tricks of surveillance and counter-surveillance. They are very
hard to catch." Law enforcement, however, is slowly denting this pipeline. On April 5, 2000, U.S.
federal agents intercepted two 40-pound FedEx packages of Ecstasy that, according to the Boston
Globe, had been shipped to hotel rooms in Boston and Brookline, Mass. The recipients, Yaniv
Yona and Ereza Abutbul, were Israelis.
A few months later, U.S. Customs officials in Los Angeles seized Ecstasy shipments of 650,000 and
2.1 million tablets, respectively, on flights from Paris; agents in upstate New York seized 100,000 pills
that had been transported across the St. Lawrence River from Canada. In 2000, DEA and Customs
agents seized 11.1 million doses of the drug (up from a few hundred thousand in 1995). The United
States also beefed up penalties a few months ago, tripling the potential jail terms for dealers caught
with 800 or more pills to at least five years and three months; those caught with 8,000 or more
would serve at least 10 years if convicted.
DEA agents and detectives say Israelis have been involved in almost all the major busts. They have
included Sean Erez, currently awaiting extradition from the Netherlands; Shimon Levita, a New York
yeshiva student who was sentenced to 30 months in a federal boot camp for participating in the ring
allegedly run by Erez; and Jacob Orgad, identified as an Israeli national with operations in Texas,
New York, Florida, California, and Paris. A man identified by Customs as head of one of the biggest
"drug importation rings," Israeli Tamer Adel Ibrahim, remains at large.
Trade Routes of Ecstasy Trade
New York and Miami (with considerable Israeli populations) are major transit points for the drug.
The Tel Aviv-to-Antwerp-to-Amsterdam-to-New York City route is a classic smuggler's path, says a
Belgian police officer. But with law enforcement lately scrutinizing arrivals at JFK and Newark airport
more closely, Ecstasy distributors are now focusing on Los Angeles and the West Coast, where
indigenous Israeli communities also exist and demand is high.
The Israeli Ecstasy rings have mainly used Israelis (sometimes unwittingly) as "mules," or couriers, to
bring the drug into the United States. Israeli nationals living in Europe and the United States,
typically young and seeking some easy cash, make ideal couriers. They don't fit the image of a
Colombian cocaine smuggler and they don't usually arrive en masse. Still, according to Dan Rospond,
a DEA agent working in the Netherlands, "smuggling rings will often 'shotgun' couriers on flights
from Europe-either sending a bunch on the same flight or splitting them among several flights and
airlines [to] the same destinations. If two or three are caught, half a dozen still get through."
"Nobody suspects nice Jewish kids [of] being dope smugglers," says a former NYPD detective in the
Manhattan District Attorney's office, "especially Orthodox Jews."
Perhaps that's why Erez used Orthodox and Hasidic Jews from the New York area to smuggle Ecstasy
into New York's major airports in 1999 and 2000. Young Hasidic couriers typically took 30,000 to
45,000 Ecstasy pills into the United States on each trip, according to a report by David Lefer in the
New York Daily News, sometimes carrying as much as $500,000 in drug proceeds back to Erez, in
Amsterdam. Offering $200 finder's fees, the drug rings were able to infiltrate yeshivas and rabbinical
seminaries, and recruit individuals who looked innocent enough to pass through customs without
suspicion. In the insular Orthodox communities of Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Monsey, north of New
York City, recruiters found gullible youngsters who thought they would be smuggling diamonds, not
narcotics. The reach of the Israeli syndicate is truly global. In September 2000, Japanese police
arrested Israeli David Biton on a charge of smuggling 25,000 Ecstasy tablets into Japan. "Ecstasy is to
the new century what crack was to the 1980s," said the DEA's Rospond, and Israel has its finger on
the trigger.
Although Israeli groups have dominated the Ecstasy trade for about a decade, profit margins are so
enormous that organized crime groups from other countries are now attempting to muscle in on the
market, an officer explains. "The Israelis are not about to allow the Albanians, the Serbs, the Poles,
the Chechens, the Nigerians, the Dominicans, or even the Colombians to take away their profits,"
says an undercover narcotics detective. "There will be violence. There will be bloodshed and we
have to be ready."
In Israel, and indeed around the world, a new day is dawning in the consumption and trafficking of a
narcotic that resists control. And at New York's JFK International Airport, a new day dawns for a
small army of Immigration and Naturalization Service and Customs officers awaiting the arrival of El
Al Flight 001-the first of many daily El Al flights from Israel. For years, customs agents paid little
attention to El Al flights, but now, moments before 6 a.m., they are ready, waiting. They've got their
work cut out for them.
"Pick the nice Jewish boy out of a crowd of nice Jewish boys," says a veteran Customs inspector as
he watches the 400-plus passengers search for their luggage. "It is the needle in the proverbial
haystack."