MDMA (Ecstasy) and the rave: A review

MDMA, known as "ecstasy," a designer drug, is becoming popular with American adolescents at dance halls known as "raves" and on college campuses. It seems logical that easy availability, affordability, the perception of safety, and peer acceptance and encouragement to initiate use will lead to increased misuse of MDMA. MDMA has been implicated in at least 58 deaths, resulting in a syndrome resembling heatstroke. Look-alike drugs, such as "herbal ecstasy," can easily be confused with MDMA by teenagers. Several toxicology screening tests for the amphetamine class of drugs of abuse can detect MDMA, but at about 50% reduced sensitivity.