The drug known as methylenedioxmetharnphetamine is more commonly called MDMA or ôecstasyö among drug users (Wood and Synovitz 2001, 38). The history of MDMA begins in the early twentieth century when, after its discovery by German chemists, it was patented in 1914 and used as an appetite suppressant for soldiers during World War I. A stimulant, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports MDMA is a psychoactive drug ôchemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescalineö (MDMA 2004, 1). During the 1970s and 1980s, the drug MDMA was used by psychotherapists to help patients with interpersonal relationships, self-esteem, and self-insight (Wood and Synovitz 2001). Beginning in the 1980s, however, MDMA became popular with recreational drug users. Such use prompted research on its potential harmful effects. In 1985, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) classified MDMA as a Schedule I controlled substance, banning its production and use by the mental health professions despite protests from physicians and psychotherapists. Increased use of MDMA continues associated with the rise of parties among young people known as ôravesö. These are all night music and dance parties that happen in conjunction with the consumption of ecstasy and other illicit activities.
According to NIDA, more than 676,000 people aged 12-and-older admitted taking ecstasy in 2002 (MDMA 2004, 1). The negative psychological and physical affects of using ecstasy have caused alarm in U.S. culture, primarily because studies show the largest increase in use of the drug is among 12th-graders in the West (Romano 2002, 30). The drug is highly popular among those aged 12-25 that attend what are known as ôravesö, all night-long dance parties with high octane music and the consumption of drugs, especially MDMA. Raves have been identified by police as ôDrug Taking Festivalsö and typically occur in abandoned warehouses or outdoor...