258 MDMA
of cause and effect: Does MDMA promote reckless behavior, or are self-
destructive users simply indifferent about all sorts of life hazards, of which
MDMA is only one?
Flashbacks are reported, with case reports mentioning time lengths ranging
from less than one minute to two hours.
Drug interactions.Taking MDMA together with the drug saquinavir (used
against human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] in AIDS [acquired immuno-
deficiency syndrome]) may be dangerous; usage with the HIV/AIDS drug
ritonavir can be fatal. Untoward reaction with the antidepressant fluoxetine
(Prozac) is suspected, and reaction with the antidepressant phenelzine sulfate
(a monoamine oxidase inhibitor—MAOI) can produce excessive blood pres-
sure, heavy sweating, muscle tics, and rigidity. Such perils are quite possible
with any other MAOI. Keeping in mind the need to be cautious about extrap-
olating animal experiments to humans, we can note that taking MDMA with
LSD (candyflipping) produces a multiplier effect intensifying MDMA actions
in rats.Chloral hydratepermits some MDMA action in rats while reducing
subsequent organic brain change. Also in rats MDMA boosts pain relief pro-
vided bymorphine. In male rats the malaria and heart drug quinidine can
increase MDMA’s tendency to raise body temperature.Alcoholallegedly re-
duces some effects sought by MDMA users, but that belief has not received
general scientific sanction. Scientists have confirmed that alcohol increases
MDMA’s reduction of immune system function, which may increase risk of
infections. Physicians treating MDMA overdose find that water can worsen
dangerous effects, and these doctors have concluded that people should not
drink much liquid of any sort while using the drug (hard advice for sweaty
and overheated dancers).
Cancer.Not enough scientific information to report.
Pregnancy.Scientists who studied what happened with 49 women who
used MDMA while pregnant were unable to reach any conclusions about in-
fluence on fetal development. The researchers did conclude that the women’s
lifestyles routinely included assorted factors perilous to achieving healthy off-
spring—tobacco smoking, consuming alcohol to excess, unwanted pregnancy.
A study of 136 women who used MDMA while pregnant noted an incidence
of birth defects much higher than normal (15.4% versus normal 2% or 3%),
but the usual confounding factors, such as polydrug abuse and unwanted
pregnancy, hindered conclusions about effect on fetal development. Rat ex-
periments confirm maternal brain damage but have not found brain damage
in offspring even though their behavior differs in some respects from rats
whose mothers receive no MDMA during pregnancy. An experiment with
chickens found no MDMA effect on measured aspects of embryo develop-
ment.
Additional information. “Benzedrine,” “biphetamine,” “dexedrine,”
“iboga” (ibogaine), and “khat” are nicknames for MDMA, but none of those
substances is MDMA.
Additional scientific information may be found in:
Downing, Joseph. “The Psychological and Physiological Effects of MDMA on Normal
Volunteers.”Journal of Psychoactive Drugs18 (1986): 335–39.
