14 DAY TRIAL // More than twenty years ago, a large number of teens worldwide was experimenting with the effects of one of the most potent drugs on the market. Commonly known as ecstasy, this substance was at the time said to induce a batch of nasty and serious side effects, even though during that period there lacked the reference point for such gloomy predictions. Now, scientists have attempted to make good on their word, and have conducted a study on former drug users, namely on the teenagers who are now middle-aged and settled down in their own homes, with families.
The conclusions the investigators have come to have surprised them as well – it turns out that, on average, the effects of ecstasy have been largely exaggerated, and that the drug is not by far capable of producing the long-term effects that were described back in those days. In other words, other than a small memory relapse and a mild depression, which are not at all uncommon for people who have never touched an illegal substance in their lives, all the participants in the new survey have showed no deterioration of bodily or cognitive functions to speak of, which goes to show that fear of a substance can trigger mass hysteria for nothing.
Indeed, there have been cases in which participants registered more advanced stages of memory loss, but they have been, the researchers say, completely isolated and unrepresentative of the total amount of test subjects. That is to say, only those who abused ecstasy as teens, and continued through adulthood, have registered notable changes in their physiologies. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs from the UK, an independent research body that advises the government on issues related to drug use and abuse, has been behind the new research.
Short-termed, the effects of ecstasy aren't strong and seriously negative. In fact, even after years of occasional use, the man or woman taking the drug reports no significant changes. However, no one says that consuming ecstasy is risk-free. Its impact thoroughly depends on each individual's system, and adverse effects could easily occur. The scientific body has decided to recommend the downgrading of ecstasy from a class A to a class B danger level, meaning that it will be in the same class as marijuana, as far as the level of harmfulness is concerned.