Ecstasy and similar drugs

In recent years the use of ecstasy and other so-called 'party drugs' has gained prominence.

Often promoted as drugs for use at dance parties or 'raves', or for 'clubbing', they have had serious consequences as some deaths have resulted from the use of the drugs. Young people, taking the illegal drugs at dance venues, have quickly become dehydrated - and some have died.

That's in addition to the addictive nature of drug-taking and the other adverse physical and emotional effects.

'Ecstasy' is the common name for the drug MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine). It is a form of amphetamine.
[See description at Wikipedia.]

The US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has an InfoFacts page on ecstasy.

They say "MDMA (3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic, psychoactive drug that is chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. MDMA produces feelings of increased energy euphoria, emotional warmth, and distortions in time perception and tactile experiences."
The InfoFacts page goes on to describe how the drug acts on the brain, the risk of addiction, and the dangerous effects on health, saying "MDMA can also be dangerous to overall health and, on rare occasions, lethal."
Read the page: NIDA InfoFacts: MDMA (Ecstasy)

The United Nations' World Drug Campaign has a Fact Sheet on Ecstasy - click here. 

International monitoring of drug making materials 

The International Narcotics Control Board is responsible for monitoring and tracking international shipments of drugs and ingredients used to make drugs such as ecstasy.
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is the independent and quasi-judicial monitoring body for the implementation of the United Nations international drug control conventions.
Visit the INCB website for information.

The United

Here is a sample of media reports about deaths from ecstasy...

Okotoks teen identified in ecstasy-linked death
Edmonton Journal, Canada, October 12, 2009.
"The medical examiner has identified an Okotoks man who died after collapsing at an all-night dance party at West Edmonton Mall over the weekend. Zachary Lamb, 19, collapsed early Monday during Frost 2009, a party at Edmonton Event Centre featuring a long list of popular DJs. He was taken to hospital by paramedics at about 4 a. m. and died a couple hours later. Police said Lamb was among hundreds in attendance and they suspected he had taken the party drug ecstasy...."