headshops MDMA Ecstasy information page

History of MDMA or more commonly known as ecstasy

A patent for MDMA—referred to as methylsafrylamin—was originally filed on Christmas Eve 1912 by the German pharmaceutical company Merck, after being first synthesised for them by German chemist Anton Köllisch at Darmstadt earlier that year. The patent was granted in 1914; Köllisch died in 1916 unaware of the impact his synthesis would have. At the time, MDMA was not known to be a drug in its own right; rather, it was patented as an intermediate chemical used in the synthesis of a hydrastinine (a drug intended to control bleeding from wounds). During 1927, Max Oberlin used MDMA as a mimic for adrenaline as the compound has a similar chemical structure. At this time the first animal studies were performed to demonstrate the effects of MDMA on blood glucose levels and vascular tissue. This study was discontinued due to the high costs of the chemical synthesis. Interest was revived in the compound as a possible human stimulant by Wolfgang Fruhstorfer in 1959, although it is unclear if tests were actually performed on humans. The synthesis of the compound first appeared in 1960.

The U.S. Army carried out lethal dose studies on animals of MDMA and several other compounds in the mid-1950s. It was given the name EA-1475, with the EA standing for either (accounts vary) "Experimental Agent" or "Edgewood Arsenal". The results of these studies were not declassified until 1969.

Due to the wording of the existing Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, MDMA was automatically classified as a Class A drug in 1977 in UK (i.e. it was classified without any investigation or evaluation of its properties), and was classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance in the United States from May 31, 1985 [7]. Before then, it was used both as an adjunct to psychotherapy and as a recreational drug. MDMA began to be used therapeutically in the mid-1970s after the chemist Alexander Shulgin introduced it to psychotherapist Leo Zeff. As Zeff and others spread word about MDMA, it developed a reputation for enhancing communication, reducing psychological defenses, and increasing capacity for introspection. However, no formal measures of these putative effects were made and blinded or placebo-controlled trials were not conducted. A small number of therapists—including George Greer, Joseph Downing, and Philip Wolfson—used it in their practices until it was made illegal.

MDMA appeared sporadically as a street drug in the late 1960s (when it was known as the "love drug"), but it came into prominence in the early 1980s in certain trendy yuppie bars in the Dallas area, then in gay dance clubs. From there use spread to rave clubs, and then to mainstream society. The street name of "ecstasy" was coined in California in 1984. During the 1990s, along with the growing popularity of the rave subculture, MDMA use became increasingly widespread among young adults in universities and later in high schools. It rapidly became one of the four most widely used illegal drugs in the U.S., along with cocaine, heroin and cannabis.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, ecstasy was widely used in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe, becoming an integral element of rave culture and other psychedelic/dancefloor-influenced music scenes, such as Madchester and Acid House.

HEAD SHOP | LEGAL ALTERNATIVE HIGHS | JUST LEGAL HIGHS | POWDER KITS| SNORTERS | BONGS | HERBAL HIGHS
VAPOURISERS | CANNABIS SEEDS | STASH TINS | PIPES | EDUCATIONAL DVD's | GRINDERS

This Head shop site contains material which may be considered controversial by some it is placed on this site for novelty, educational, entertainment, and we sell items deemed legal within the United Kingdom are sold on this site. we ship both nationally and internationally. We only sell items that deemed legal within the United Kingdom. It is the responsibility of the purchaser (you) to know the law relating to the items purchased for there destination.
All items are securely and discretely packaged for the protection of Privacy.
This Site does not support or encourage the users of this site to break the law Please remember By section 6 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 it is an offence to cultivate any plant of the genus Cannabis in the United Kingdom without a license from the Secretary of State. Anyone committing an offence contrary to this section may be imprisoned or fined, or both. Visitors to this website are strongly advised against breaking the law. This site . We do not use, nor promote the use of any illegal substances or condone or encourage the viewing of this material by children and persons under the age of 18 years old.

Those under 18 years of age must Leave now.

All images, logos and trademarks within this site are the property of their respective owner(s). Any comments are property of their posters. The information on Cannabis Cultivation is obtained from the GNU Free Documentation License. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. All other intellectual material, text, images and site design Copyright, © 2004-2007
headshops.co.uk. All rights reserved.

Webmaster