Relfection Blog

When we were asked to pick a topic that we wanted to learn more about and that we were going to be stuck with for a long time, I had no idea what to chose. I thought about it more and more and I wanted to learn something that I could talk to my friends about. Then it hit me, a group of my friends got into ecstasy and I didn't really know much about it, so I wanted to learn all about it to be able to warn them what it does to your body. I knew barely anything about it, which is why I chose it as my topic. I would much rather write a blog each week instead of writing one big term paper on it. Since we focus on one topic each week, I think it's easier to store the information and actually learn what you're reading. I think it also helps us learn to site our sources because almost every week we have to do it. There's nothing I really don't like, the only thing I forget to do sometimes is add the two vocabulary words in.

I've learned a great deal of information about ecstasy. One of the facts that are most surprising to me is that ecstasy is non-addictive, but the drugs it's based with is the addictive part. It blows my mind because 9 out of 10 people would think the opposite of that and think just because it's a drug that it's addictive. I've also learned each about chemical in ecstasy and the specific things it does to your body. I like knowing this information because I can relay it to other people and warm them about the dangerous of drugs. One of the most interesting things I learned about was the history of where ecstasy originated from. I never would've though that it was only a mistake by two German scientists. But now that I've read that it wouldn't surprise me if that’s how other drugs came to our society because they are all from man made chemicals. I still feel like everything is abstemious, because ecstasy was once used in psychiatry but it shouldn't be used in large amounts or all the time.

I know I've learned a lot about ecstasy but I'm sure there is still so much more I can learn. I want to learn about where it's imported from and all the different kinds that there is. I'm interested in learning how much it takes to overdose, and how you know you've overdosed, like what the symptoms are? I want to become very auspicious in knowing everything there is to know about ecstasy.

Research Blog

The chemicals in ecstasy are MDMA, also known as (methylenedioymethamphetamine), cocaine, meth, lsd, and heroin and they each have different effects on and some on different parts of your body.

MDMA is in all ecstasy pills, so there for it's the most common. Once taken and given the time to have an effect on your body it stimulates many things. One of those things is called serotonin, which has the effect to change your mood, appetite, muscle contraction, sleeping habits, learning and memory. Besides humans it can also be found in plants, animals and certain types of fungi. The second thing MDMA stimulates is dopamine which is produced in several parts of the brain and can make you sleepy. The last thing that is affected by MDMA is norepinephrine which affects parts of the brain where attention and responding actions are controlled. (National Institute Of Health) MDMA affects those three areas of the brain, which is not as big of an affect as other drugs have on your body.

Cocaine is one of the many things ecstasy can be based with. Besides being based in ecstasy, you can also snort it, inject it, and smoke it. It's a brain chemical that releases pleasure and movement. The long term effects of this drug are your heart attack rate increases, chest pain, respiratory failure, seizures and headaches, strokes, abnormal pain and nausea. (Duhaime, Lloyd)It mainly affects your central nervous system and makes your blood pressure rise through the roof. This can be extremely bad or not severe at all depending on how much you do over how big of a time period.

Meth is highly addictive and when mixed with MDMA creates an unreasonable amount of pleasure. When using meth is releases a surge of dopamine (mentioned before) causing an insanely intense rush of pleasure. Over time if you are persistent with using meth, it makes it almost impossible to have pleasure or happiness without it, which is why it's so addictive. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) Meth creates a lot of paranoia, insomnia, extreme aggression, anxiety, and even death. If used for over a year, it deteriorates your body and rotes your teeth. A combination of MDMA and meth is dangerous, and one way people get addicted to ecstasy because meth is such an addictive drug.

LSD is a hallucinogenic that is often mixed with MDMA. LSD stands for lysergic acid diethylamide. It can come in the form of a pill, on a blotter sheep, or in a liquid form. LSD distorts your perception of reality which in some cases can be scary. It affects the serotonin system, which includes your mood, hunger, sexual behavior, body temperatures, sensory perception and muscle control. Once LSD is taken and given the time to hit your body, you start to see things you though you'd never imagine, feel sensations and hear weird things. (National Institutes of Health) Considering MDMA increases your serotonin and if LSD was mixed with MDMA you'd be literally out of your mind. You'd be feeling amazing while you'd be in your own reality. You might see snow during July or you could convince yourself you're a banana and start to peel yourself. If you take this, you need to be in a really happy environment because you can have a bad trip. If you have a bad enough trip you could convince yourself to jump off a cliff depending on what you're feeling.

The last thing ecstasy can be based with it heroin. It's right next to meth as the most addictive drug out there. What heroin does is it turns into morphine in the brain receptors ( a structure on the surface of a cell that selectively receives and binds a specific substance) that looks for endorphins. People like it because it relieves stress, pain, anxiety and gives them a sense of pleasure just like the other drugs I've talked about. It's dangerous because all the opiates (a narcotic drug that has opium) attack the part of the brain that controls your breathing, and if you're alone and you take too much of the drug you can die from suffocation. Its bad when mixed with ecstasy because if taken too much the withdrawals are very severe. It can be a 3-5 day process of nothing but shaking, sweats, diarrhea, insomnia, flu-like symptoms, cramps and goose bumps.

In each of my paragraphs, I've made it clear that each of these drugs is addictive because the main thing they create is a pleasurable sensation through-out your body. I've mentioned before in my earlier blogs that MDMA itself is not addictive; it's all the other things it's based with. Each drug does a little something different to each part of your body. (Spence, W. R.) Your body is a sacred place that should be taken care of and people shouldn't be putting these chemicals into their bodies because they had extremely bad side effects and long term effects.

Sites :]

"NIDA - Research Report Series - MDMA (Ecstasy) Abuse." National Institute on Drug Abuse - The Science of Drug Abuse and Addiction. Ed. National Institutes Of Health. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. http://www.drugabuse.gov/researchreports/MDMA/MDMA4.html.

Duhaime, Lloyd. "Police Station Cocaine." Duhaime.org - Bringing Legal Information To The World. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. http://duhaime.org/LegalResources/PoliceStation/LawArticle-51/Cocaine.aspx#.

"Methamphetamine, crystal meth effects at SAMHSA's NCADI." Drug and alcohol abuse, treatment, prevention at SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. Ed. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/GOVPUBS/PHD861/.

"Hallucinogens: LSD, Peyote, Psilocybin, and PCP - InfoFacts." National Institute on Drug Abuse - The Science of Drug Abuse and Addiction. Ed. National Institutes Of Health. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofacts/hallucinogens.html.

Spence, W. R. "Heroin." Yahoo! GeoCities: Get a web site with easy-to-use site building tools. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. http://www.geocities.com/cps17901/Drugs/heroin.html.

The Club Drug Survey

The survey I wrote, that I gave to ten people was short, sweet and straight to the point. I asked the questions I did, because I wanted to know how many people are familiar with ecstasy and what it does to your body. Some kids may be using it, thinking ecstasy is like weed and deleterious. I expected that no one knew any of the health effects of ecstasy, although I was proven wrong. 8 out of 10 people said they knew "some of the health effects", which to me is better than not knowing any of them at all. Out of the random 10 people that took my survey, I didn't think anyone would've checked the yes box for actually trying ecstasy. 2 out of the 10 people said yes. It's interesting to me because one was a junior girl, and the other was a senior boy. That doesn't really tell me if girls or boys use it more often, if I wanted to know the answer to that, I'd have to interview 100 students instead of 10 to get more variety. Although, asking someone if they have tried ecstasy can be considered a personal thing that they might not want to share, so some of the students that took the survey could've checked the no box to save their reputation. Based on the results of this survey, I'd like to research more about the age of kids when they starting taking ecstasy. I'd also like to research if there are reasons that kids are taking ecstasy other than it's fun. I think it'd be interesting to find out, and helpful for adults to talk with their kids about. I'm guessing there are specific reasons that kids need to feel the need to take a pill to make them feel excessive happiness. The last question I asked was do you think ecstasy is an addictive drug? 7 out of 3 people said it is an addictive drug. The other 3 people were correct, ecstasy itself is not an addicitive drug. The other drugs it's cut with is what makes you addicted. It's all the heroin, meth, cocaine, speed, and mescaline it's cut with. I'm sure the 7 people who thought it was addictive said that because they know it's a drug, and most people think every drug is addictive. I think people would be really surprised knowing that ecstasy is not addictive if they were educated about it. From my survey, I got completely different answers that I though I would've of, and it shows how kids need to be educated on all drugs. The biggest thing I'd like to research about ecstasy is how it's made, because it enervates your body more than you could ever imagine.

Website all about Ecstasy

The Denver DA website was extremely helpful in finding credible and accurate information about all areas of ecstasy. It's up to date because you're able to contact the Denver DA, so they obviously check it occasionally to read the feedback. The layout is very clean cut and simple. Most websites should be this way because it's much easier to find information. If its an informational website and has pictures everywhere, and different colors with crazy fonts, it's very distracting. Each topic they talk about has a link that's just a click away, which is easy to navigate. Although it's not visually appealing, the color scheme they chose goes together nicely. All the information is written well and it's laid out that so people of all ages can comprehend it and use it as a source.
On this website there is only one argument against ecstasy, which would be that it's nothing but harmful and bad. It makes sense because, it's written by the Denver DA, and it's something that they highly outlaw. If someone is researching ecstasy or just interested in it, they can find out: the health risks, about the distribution of ecstasy, what it is, and the consequences for being caught with it. The main goal of this website is to inform everyone about ecstasy, but mainly parents if they have any questions about what it is. Parents might find a tablet in their kids room and not know what it is, and by coming to this website they can find anything and everything they need to know about it. They can then talk to their kid and let them know the health dangers as well as how many years in prison you can receive if you're found with the substance. The website gives good visuals of what ecstasy can look like and there is no chicanery. Another use of this website could be if a teen was given something from a friend and they didn't know what it was, they'd be able to read all about it here and know not to take it.
This website gives a lot of helpful information and people probably use it a lot because it's credible, written efficiently and it doesn't belie facts.



Sites :]

Morrissey, Mitchell R. "Denver DA." District Attorney Home Page. Web. 07 Oct. 2009. .

Agony Of Ecstasy

Now a days, ecstasy is involved in raves. A rave is a dance party that's held in an abandoned warehouse or a club, and it's fueled by ecstasy and techno music. In recent years, ecstasy market has been expanded past the rave scene. Tom Lowe was an undercover cop that exclusively went to raves, and used chicanery to find ecstasy. Kids would offer it to him, and once it was obvious it was an undercover cop, they'd abjure something like,"Oh, no sorry I mis-understood you, that's not what I meant." Even their white lies, wouldn't get put past the cop and they'd be arrested. Last year, Lowe put some of the Latin-King gang members in jail for dealing with ecstasy distribution. Lowe thought ecstasy was mainly used at raves, but then found out it was being dealt with on the streets and massive amounts were being moved. Ecstasy has begun to attract professional drug dealers, who are far more aware of undercover cops, and who are much harder to track down. Since Ecstasy itself in a nonaddictive drug, people have began to cut it with things that are highly addictive, such as: methamphetamine, speed, heroin, cocaine and PCP. It's much more of a street drug than anything now. If this new trend continues to grow, and there is no stop put to it, ecstasy may no longer be the largely absolute, semi low-risk distraction that it's been. It will become a future gateway that leads to addiction and violence for thousands of young and innocent Americans.
Ecstasy is considered a felony anywhere in the world, since it's not aloud to be produced anywhere legally.
In Colorado,and you're over eighteen and caught with it, you can face a sentence in prison for up to twelve years. If you get caught with it and had the intention to sell or distribute it, you can face up to sixteen years in prison, and depending on the circumstances and the amount your caught with, you might face up to thirty-two years in prison. Fines to get you out can range from $3,000.00-$750,000.00. Although, if you're a minor possession to sell or distribute can lead up to two years in a juvenile detention center.
It's been proven today that the psychological effects of ecstasy are: paranoia, confusion, depression, anxiety, and hallucinations. The physical side effects are much worse though, they consist of: severe dehydration and body overheating, nausea, sweating, chills, tremors (shaking of the body, usually effecting fingers or hands) significantly increased heart rate and blood pressure, muscle tightness, blurred vision, kidney and heart failure, faintness, muscle breakdown, and brain damage. One of the main physical side effects that can lead to death is the severe hydration. When kids are dancing and moving constantly at a rave, their mouths get extremely dry and they are always craving water. If you drink too much watch you can drown your body and that leads to death.

Sites
Morrissey, Mitchell R. "DenverDA." Web.