Forget Me Not, Medicine, College Term Papers.com


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Back to Subjects - Medicine

Forget Me Not

Forget Me Not Some believe that it is therapeutic; others take it to capture the feeling of love all around. Ignorance calls it “the love drug.” What is this drug that has taken control of the lives of so many adults as well as children? It is Ecstasy, or in Medical terms, MDMA. This drug has long-term effects that will leave users more ignorant than they started out when they chose to abuse it. As much as users believe that it does no harm, this drug is very dangerous and the use of it must be put to and end by all means. On the streets, it is referred to as “x,” “wigg,” or even “candy.” Ecstasy in its purest white crystal form is known as MDMA or methylenedioxymethamphetamine. It is a synthetic, psychoactive, mind-altering drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties. Its chemical structure, 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, is similar to two other synthetic drugs, MDA and methamphetamine, which are known to cause brain damage. Ecstasy stimulates the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin from brain neurons, producing a high that lasts for hours. The drug's so-called rewarding effects vary with the individual taking it, the dose and purity, and the environment in which it is taken. Ecstasy can produce stimulant effects such as an enhanced sense of pleasure and self-confidence and increased energy. Its psychedelic effects include feelings of peacefulness, acceptance, and empathy. Users claim they experience feelings of closeness with others and a desire to touch them and hug them. Because Ecstasy engenders feelings of closeness and trust and has a short duration of action, some therapists claim that the drug is potentially valuable as a psychotherapeutic agent. However, Federal regulators classify Ecstasy as a drug with no accepted medical use. Physical effects also include muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating. Increases in heart rate and blood pressure are a special risk for people with circulatory or heart disease. And though users see only the positives of the drug or what they believe is, they need to open their eyes and believe death is definitely a factor. Many of the effects with Ecstasy use are similar to those found with the use of amphetamines and cocaine. Some of these risks are psychological difficulties, including; confusion, depression, sleep disorders, drug addiction, anxiety, and paranoia. Even after weeks of the initial taking of the drug, psychotic episodes do reoccur. During the drug session is the most dangerous point. Vomiting, dizziness, and especially overheating will kill the person. Ecstasy severely dehydrates the body and while users believe they are having fun and feeling great, in actuality they’re dying inside. Recent research findings have linked Ecstasy use to long-term damage to those parts of the brain critical to thought and memory. Continual usage of the drug causes the long-term memory nerve to shrink and the brain starts to hemorrhage, slowly bleeding to death. I’ve recently watched a feature story on MTV about a twenty-two year old girl who told her story about abusing Ecstasy. She used Ecstasy for four years and finally stopped when it was already too late. Finally she visited a doctor who ran a CAT scan on her because of her complaint of headaches. The results lead to the discovery that her Ecstasy usage had ended in the drug deteriorating her skull and brain so badly that in the x-ray, there were actual holes that could be seen. It left large indentions throughout her brain where areas of memory were and she now has a brain equivalent to one of a sixty-year-old person who has suffered multiple strokes. If only there was such a power to open up everyone’s eyes to the seriousness of this drug. It should be forever reddened just as other drugs should also be. Ecstasy may be referred to as the “love drug,” but when both positives and negatives are put together, be prepared to see the ugly truth it has in store in the lives of the users forever. It should actually be called the “forget-me-not” drug, as it will forever be with them. This is a deadly drug and we all need to realize and take action to put an end to this drug known as Ecstasy. Bibliography:

Word Count: 705