Ecstasy
  1. A 1998 survey found that an estimated 1.5% (3.4 million) of Americans at least 12 years old has used MDMA at least once during their lifetime.
    Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse

  2. According to a 1999 study by Monitoring the Future, 2.7% of 8th graders had ever used ecstasy, with 1.7% saying they used in the past year and .8% saying they used in the past month. 6% of 10th graders said they had ever used ecstasy, with 4.4% using in the past year and 1.8% in the past month. With 12th graders, the number reporting they had used ecstasy went up to 8%, with 5.6% using in the past year and 2.5% using in the past month.

  3. The 2000 Monitoring the Future study reports that past-year use of ecstasy by 8th graders increased 82% between 1999 and 2000 (from 1.7% to 3.1%). Past-month use of ecstasy by 10th graders increased 44 percent during that time (from 1.8% to 2.6%).

  4. Teen trial use of ecstasy has doubled since 1995.
    Source: Partnership for a Drug-Free America

  5. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) seized 174,278 MDMA pills in 1998, over a million in 1999, and more than 949,000 just between January and October 2000.
    Source: National Drug Control Strategy 2001 Annual Report

  6. The cost of ecstasy pills range from $10 to $45 each. Meanwhile, it costs as low as 2 cents to 25 cents per dose to manufacture them. This high profit margin is one of the factors encouraging MDMA importation to the U.S.
    Source: Office of National Drug Control Policy

  7. Respondents to a survey by the Office of National Drug Control Policy reported the widest availability of GHB and Rohypnol in cities in the West or South.

  8. In monkeys, exposure to MDMA (ecstasy) for four days caused brain damage that was evident 6 to 7 years later. The study provides further evidence that people who take MDMA may be risking permanent brain damage.
    Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse

  9. There is evidence the people who develop an acne-type rash after using MDMA may be risking severe side effects, including liver damage, if they continue to use the drug.
    Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse

  10. Ecstasy sellers, like ecstasy users, are mostly white, middle-class men between the ages of 14 and 32.

  11. Some examples of different ecstasy pill logos from across the U.S.:
    • Los Angeles, CA: Nike logo
    • Chicago, IL: Ferrari logo
    • Detroit, MI: cartoon characters and colored pills
    • Sioux Falls, ND: buddha
    • Columbia, SC: double dip diamond, double dip, democrat, republican
    • El Paso, TX: "E"
    • Washington, DC: Star of David, Versace, Mitsubishi
    • Boston, MA: rabbits, race car logos
    • Portland, ME: "E"
    Source: Office of National Drug Control Policy