Group outlines risks of the popular club drug Ecstasy

When her boyfriend and friends started experimenting with Ecstasy, Wharton senior Chianoo Sneider had no idea of the drug's deadly side effects. That is, until she lost her boyfriend at a rave one night. Sneider and three other panelists spoke to about 60 people last night about Ecstasy, or methylenedioxymethamphetamine, and its effects. At 4040 Locust Street, in a talk organized by Penn's Drug and Alcohol Resource Team and the Office of Health Education, six Nursing students also contributed to the event. "I didn't think much of it at time time," Sneider recalled of her boyfriend's Ecstasy use. "It was a relatively new drug, and I did not know much about it. I didn't worry, as long as he didn't do other drugs." According to the panelists, this lack of awareness is the central problem. Although commonly known as an underground drug used mostly at all-night dance parties called "raves," Ecstasy use has become increasingly common among adolescents and young adults. Noticing Ecstasy's expansion from the underground, Nursing senior Michele Segal decided to study its local usage for her senior project. "I didn't think it had such a presence on campus," said Segal, who -- along with her five co-authors -- interviewed 646 Penn students. The numbers surprised Segal. Thirteen percent had used ecstasy before, half of them with other drugs and two-thirds on a semi-regular basis. A few used the drug about once a week. Not surprisingly, those who perceived Ecstasy as harmless said they would use it again. "Based on these findings, that tells us that people really need to be educated," said Segal. Kate Ward-Gaus, DART's advisor from the Office of Health Education, said that plans for an Ecstasy talk began last semester. "I respond to what the students bring forward," Ward-Gaus said. Although the idea first arose in the fall, it finally came to fruition in the Spring. Kyle Kampman, director of Penn's Treatment Research Center, spoke to the audience about the drug's physical effects. Ecstasy works by increasing release of the hormone serotonin, creating feelings of euphoria. What makes Ecstasy different from other drugs, Kampman said, is that "it is dangerous even to casual users." Ecstasy also damages the neurons which control brain functioning, particularly in the areas affecting long-term memory and thought, said Kampman. Short term negative side effects include dehydration and heat stroke. "In the short term, your brain cells cannot communicate," he explained. In the long run, Ecstasy permanently injures neuron connections. As well as biological and physical effects, Ecstasy injures the user's mental state. "You get so used to the high, and you enjoy it so much" that being off ecstasy induces depression, Segal said. Often, users do not know what may be laced in Ecstasy. Sneider said, "You never know what is in the pill -- even with a one-time use, there are distinct dangers." College senior Jason Post, a DART member who helped organize the event, called the talk successful, saying, "I thought we did a good job engendering discussion without taking sides, and it is definitely in line with DART's mission."