OK, so you've decided you might like
to give MDMA a try. You've found some pills and tested them. But what
will it feel like? How much should you take? Is this a recreational
experiment, a quest for personal growth? Time to make some choices
and
preparations. ("Rolling" is slang in the US for being
high on MDMA. The origins of the expression are not known, but
the
explanation I like best is that "rolling" describes the effortless
energy and inner strength of the MDMA state...rolling along on sheer
momentum.)
 |
A perfomer twirls flaming batons at a nightclub. |
Is it really safe?
It's safer than being a drinker
or smoker. It's not as safe as sitting on the couch watching another
re-run of "Friends." Although a handful of people do die
from MDMA use each year in the US, more often than not they did something
unwise to cause it (massive overdoses, heatstroke from dancing for
hours strait at a hot club, drinking gallons of water out of fear of
overheating,
trying to drive while high, drug mixing, etc.) If you exercise a few
simple precautions, there is very little chance you will be harmed.
(Visit
the Risks section for statistics and
more information on causes of MDMA related injuries and deaths.)
What does it feel like?
After 'is it safe', by far the most common
question people have is what an MDMA experience feels like. Strangely,
this is a hard question for most users to really answer, because the
effects are subtle and often personal in nature. The famous Dr.
Shulgin describes MDMA this way:
"(with 100 mg) MDMA intrigued me because everyone I asked
who had used it answered the question, 'What's it like?' in the same
way: 'I don't know.' 'What happened?' 'Nothing.' And now I understand
those answers. I too think nothing happened. But something seemed
changed."
–Alexander Shulgin, in "PIHKAL"
If you're a psychiatrist, it might be
meaningful for me to say that MDMA produces a dissolution of neurotic
fear, emotional openness, and euphoria with hyperactivity. But that
doesn't really capture the feeling.
Perhaps it would be more useful to start with what it doesn't do:
• MDMA doesn't (normally anyway)
cause hallucinations. (At quite high doses convincing hallucinations
have been reported.)
• MDMA doesn't 'make you stupid'
the way a lot of alcohol does. (People who are trying MDMA for the
first time are often amazed how perfectly normal and 'themselves' they
feel.)
What it does do:
• MDMA produces relaxation, energy,
and a sense of peace and joy. It's a wonderful drug to hang out with
friends and family on (but sooner or later they'll notice you
aren't sober, so use with people who won't mind.)
• MDMA has a strong stimulant effect.
Most commonly, this manifests itself in rapid (but coherent)
talking and a drive to be physically active. (Many people at raves
have reported feeling compelled to dance when the drug took effect.)
• It is intoxicating–you
will be somewhat less able to deal with unforeseen problems (you certainly
don't want to drive while high.)
• MDMA enhances appreciation of
music, vision, touch and taste. (Massages are
popular
with people on MDMA.) This is not an amplification of your senses
per se; rather, your brain is enjoying sensations much more.
• MDMA suppresses emotional fear
(fear of rejection, insecurity, etc.) and promotes socialization/talking.
• MDMA can relieve pain (serotonin
is involved in pain control.) In some cases this effect is profound:
Terminally ill people suffering terrible chronic pain have reported
complete temporary relief during an MDMA experience.
• People on MDMA are almost incapable
of aggression or hostility (although violence isn't impossible if the
user feels it's necessary to protect themselves or others.)
• People on MDMA are "overly
focused"...they're living fully in the moment, and as a result
are easily distracted (which is the main reason you don't want to
try
to drive.)
OK, that's interesting...but what does it FEEL like?
At its best? It feels like joy. Like
standing in the presence of God and knowing you are loved without reservation.
It feels the way you haven't felt since you were a small child, absolutely
alive, absolutely in the moment, able to feel and experience and share
with others without fear or hesitation. It is the most perfect moment
of the most perfect day of your life, when trouble was nothing but
a
memory and the possibilities rolled on forever. It is the achievement
of the inner peace the religions try to sell but rarely deliver. At
its best, MDMA is one of the finest, purest, most profound experiences
life has to offer.
Uh... Are you serious?
If that sounds a little intense, it
is. But...that's not necessarily the typical MDMA experience. Producing
such peak experiences depends on the dosage taken, the environment,
and the person's mental and physical state going in. At lower doses,
etc. the experience is much milder (but still often remarkable.)
How far you want to take it is up to you. At lower doses, a person
on MDMA can wander about public places, strike up conversations,
etc. and not be thought of as 'odd' or particularly noticed. At
low doses, you just feel unusually cheerful, sociable and energetic, as
though you were extraordinarily well rested and relaxed. MDMA is fairly
flexible in what it can do. If you seek an at-one-with-the-universe
religious experience, that can be achieved...but it's also a perfectly
nice and controllable recreational drug for going out on the town.
Like alcohol, it's not a matter of simply being completely drunk vs.
completely sober...there is a large range of possibilities in
between. You pick your dose, you pick your environment, you pick what
you want to try to get out of it.
• Visit
Erowid's
MDMA Experience Vault for a huge collection (over 500) of
individual
descriptions of MDMA experiences.
So is it a party drug or not?
Although simple recreation is the most
popular use, MDMA first became popular because of its use in therapy.
Under the influence of MDMA, many people have been able to overcome
fears, let go of past traumas, and examine and come to terms with aspects
of their own lives. Currently, the US government has given approval
for human experiments with MDMA in the treatment of post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD in soldiers as a result of combat trauma (being
wounded,
seeing friends die, etc.) Such cases used to be called "shell
shock.")
For more information or to contribute
to this research, visit MAPS.
There's got to be a down side. What can go wrong?
For medical risks, visit
the Risks Section. There are also a few psychological issues
to be aware of.
The most unpleasant potential psychological
event while on MDMA is a "bad trip." Such events are unusual,
and appear to be caused by taking too much, being in a threatening
environment,
or trying to fight and suppress the drug's effects. I describe them
as a "panic", not in the sense of running around screaming,
but in the sense of an overwhelming fear that things are slipping
beyond
your control. An MDMA panic/anxiety attack usually consists of extreme
emotional discomfort and a fear that something terrible is happening
or about
to happen.
It's not medically dangerous, but feeling like you might be going to
die is a miserable experience either way. If a panic occurs, you'll
just have to ride it out. Try to relax, and remind yourself that you
are physically fine and will soon be back to normal. Once it passes
you can still enjoy the rest of time until the drug wears off.
Avoiding a 'panic' is fairly easy. First,
use MDMA (or any drug, for that matter) in places and around people
where you feel safe and comfortable. Second, don't go wild with how
much you take...know your limits. And finally (and perhaps most importantly)
be at peace with the idea of altering your state of mind. When the world
starts to look a little different and you start to feel a little different,
your response should be "cool, the drug is kicking in", not
"oh my god what's happening to me?" Once you introduce a drug
into your system, it will run its course, one way or the other.
Address any major reservations you have before dosing. After you've
swallowed a pill is not the time for second thoughts...at that point
you're committed.
These 'panic' states are most likely
to occur during the onset or peak of drug effects, but may also occur
later on if you are faced with a threatening situation (threat of violence,
etc.)
Another issue with MDMA use is that,
as with any intoxicating drug, you might do something that seemed like
a good idea at the time but which you might regret the next day. Maybe
you were a little more open with your feelings than you planned. Maybe
you had sex with somebody that by the light of the day after wasn't
necessarily a good match for you. It's one more reason to either use
in a very public setting (such as a rave) where you can't really get
yourself in trouble, or a private setting with people you really trust.
MDMA doesn't force people to tell the
truth...you can easily lie while high if you think it's appropriate.
However, you'll be much more open about things that you really wanted
to talk about (but wouldn't normally feel comfortable bringing up.)
You can just go dancing or be by yourself and never have the issue of
'saying too much' come up...but frankly, the sense of interpersonal
trust and compassion is part of the charm of a MDMA experience.
Because it temporarily alters your brain
chemistry (like any psychoactive drug) MDMA may trigger or worsen psychiatric
problems in vulnerable individuals. In particular, the risk
of depression/anxiety during the hangover period
may be particularly high for people who were already suffering from
a psychiatric problem. This risk can be reduced with 5-HTP,
a nutritional supplement that helps replace serotonin.
What about side effects?
There are a broad range of side affects,
from the amusing to the genuinely troublesome. These side effects are
all dose-dependant (the more you took the more likely to occur/severe
the side effect may be):
• Pupil dilation. Always
a favorite, be sure to look in the mirror during the onset/peak of effects
to see how large your pupils have gotten. Typical user reaction: COOOOL!
Pupils remain light-responsive (they will contract in the presence of
bright light.) Still, if one planned to use MDMA while out in sunlight,
a pair of sunglasses wouldn't be a bad idea.
 |
The
reflection of a flash off the back of a party-goer's eyes reveals
highly dilated pupils. |
• Nystagmus. A big word
for a small symptom: Your field of vision 'jumping' slightly
from side to side due to twitches of the muscles that control eye movement
(sometimes called 'eye wiggles'.) Sometimes this effect is obvious,
but for many people to notice it you'll need to relax and just sort
of stare off into space. It's not clear what causes it, but it may
be the
result of MDMA's affect on the sense of balance (you can also see nystagmus
is people with inner ear problems.) When it does detectably occur,
it's usually
not troublesome: Users tend to describe it as 'cool' or 'weird'.
• Minor visual
effects. You may see faint 'halos' around lights, tracers
from lights, and subtle changes to textures. Much of this may
be simply due to pupil dilation. I haven't heard anybody complain
about these effects–they're often not even noticeable. Note: In
rare individuals or at very high doses of MDMA well-formed
visual effects have been reported (seeing literal faces in
clouds, etc.) As in virtually all cases of drug-induced visuals,
the user is unlikely to believe what they are seeing is anything
but a curious side-effect of the drug. Personally, I've never
seen such a thing. Most cases of "MDMA visuals" are
probably actually due to MDA,
which is very similar to MDMA and is sold as 'ecstasy' with
some regularity. |
|
 Captured
by camera, these visual tracers from twirled glowsticks can also
be created by MDMA's effects. |
• Bruxism. An unpleasent
side effect, bruxism is clenching your teeth (and in some cases, grinding
them)
and is a very common side effect of stimulant
drugs (including MDMA.) The result can be jaw/tooth pain, bitten cheeks,
and in some extreme cases damage to teeth or dental work. Bruxism is
mainly seen during the latter part of the 'high', and can be dealt
with in
a number of ways.
One of the more colorful solutions has
been baby pacifiers, which eventually became something of a fashion
statement
even among non-users at raves. A pacifier works because the contraction
of the jaw muscles actually is under control...the problem
is that you don't notice when you start to clench because your back
teeth
are built to take pressure and won't complain until they start to hurt.
Putting something between your front teeth lets you know when your
jaw
starts to close, allowing you to stop the gesture.
An easy solution that doesn't make you
look like you're reverting to infancy is simply to press the tip of
your tongue against your front teeth (so it's slightly between the
upper and lower teeth. No, you won't bite it off...your brain will
interrupt
the 'bite' gesture when it notices pressure on your tongue. Other popular
ways to deal with the tendency to clench your teeth include hard candies
and gum.
Last but not least, a number of users
have reported that taking magnesium supplements reduces clenching.
I haven't
tried it myself, but the idea makes some theoretical sense. (Mg++ ions
reduce some ion channels permeability to Ca++ ions. If you
have
no idea what that means, don't worry...just try it and see if it helps.)
• Digestive upset. That's
a nice way of saying you might feel queasy, throw up, or have to run
to the bathroom quickly. Throwing up is unusual but somewhat common
(and usually associated with high doses, stomach unfriendly foods (fatty/spicy)
or drinking
large amounts of water.) This isn't a surprising effect since MDMA
causes the release of serotonin, and serotonin enhances the contraction
of
smooth muscle. Trouble is, your digestive tract is lined with smooth
muscle, and if it starts to contract a little too vigorously... Once
the drug properly takes effect any nausea, etc. should go away; these
are almost exclusively problems seen during the onset.
• Difficulty urinating. One
of the more amusing side effects if it's not happening to you. MDMA
(and many related drugs) promote muscle contraction. In order to pee,
you need to relax a muscle controlling urine flow. You can imagine the
problem. This isn't a major issue for most people, and shouldn't require
more radical measures than taking your time and letting yourself relax.
One of the more clever suggestions I've heard is to do multiplication
tables in your head (if that won't bore and distract you, nothing will.)
I've tried a form of it, and sure enough it worked! (I just double numbers,
i.e. 2 x 2 is 4, 4 x 2 is 8, 8 x 2 is 16, etc.) Since MDMA also temporarily
reduces the rate of urine production (it's an "anti-diuretic")
this is more of an issue immediately following the 'high' than during
it.
• Impotence. This one is
closely related to the last: In order to get an erection, you need to
relax, and MDMA rather strongly interferes with that. The effect is
only temporary, and will end when the drug is out of your system. Men
may also experience difficulty in reaching orgasm. Women don't seem
to suffer from this problem.
• Being 'off balance.'
At higher doses, MDMA can interfere
with your sense of balance/coordination.. As you might guess from
the popularity of
dancing on MDMA this isn't a major issue...but something you may notice.
The effect is strongest early on, then fades.
• Short attention span/memory.
Under the influence of MDMA, your
mind can switch topics rather quickly and completely. You may decide
to get something from another room, go there, and then not be able to
remember what it was you were looking for because you starting thinking
about something else. This isn't amnesia in the usual sense, just a
complete loss of focus on what you were doing when something else comes
up.
• Cardiovascular effects.
MDMA is a moderately strong stimulant,
and will temporarily increase your blood pressure and heart rate. In
human experiments, a moderate dose of MDMA (1.5 mg/kg) increased blood
pressure by an average of 25 mm (systolic) and 7 mm (diastolic), so
if your blood pressure is normally 120/70, on MDMA you might have a
blood pressure of 145/77. In the same experiment, pulse increased by
an average of 28 beats per minute.
• Other side effects....
Loss of appetite, dry mouth, tingling
skin (during onset), muscle tension, feeling hot, feeling chilled (again,
mainly during onset.)
How long does it take to kick in? How long does it last?
Taken orally, MDMA usually noticeably
takes effect in about 30-45 minutes. That's not set in stone, though...in
some cases you may start to feel high in as little as 20 minutes, or
it may take an hour or more. (Depending on dosage, your metabolism,
if you took it with food, etc.) For first time users, it's not unusual
for it to take over an hour to take effect due to mild anxiety suppressing
its effects; a common mistake of first-timers is to assume that after
45-60 minutes without anything obvious happening that they didn't take
enough, causing them to (often unnecessarily) take more. Be patient.
Typically, the first signs that the
drug is taking effect with be a feeling of light-headedness, tingling
skin, sometimes feeling warm or chilled.
The major desirable effects (feeling
good and energetic) usually last for about 3-5 hours, depending on
dose.
After that, you'll feel tired and probably will just
want to relax and unwind. You probably won't feel like eating and
will be tired for a day or two afterwards. (More on this in the Hangover
section.)
This graph of intoxication levels over a period
of eight hours is the result of human experiments with MDMA.[1] The
top line is from a dose
of 1.5
mg/kg,
the
middle line
is from 0.5 mg/kg, and the bottom is from controls (no drugs). In spite
of the popular user impression, there's not really a clean 'start'
or 'stop' point in this (or other) drug experiences. People reach a
point where they decide they're sufficiently affected to be 'high'
and call it the onset point; when they later reach a level of drug
effects where they feel more sober than high they say they're 'down'
(but are still being effected for a while.) To the user, it often feels
like the drug climbs in strength very rapidly once onset begins, which
at high doses or in especially nervous users can produce a sense of
being overwhelmed; this is the main period of vulnerability to a panic
attack,
when the
user
may
'chicken
out'
and try to fight the drug's effects. Relax, let go, and enjoy the ride.
Water Issues.
It's covered in Risks,
but it's important that I'll repeat it here. Ravers are often very
concerned about water intake because if you're going to dance enthusiastically
for hours strait, you may get dehydrated, and if you get dehydrated,
you're at a considerably greater risk of heatstroke. If you are
not out dancing (or otherwise vigorously exercising) you can ignore
water. Just drink normally when you feel thirsty.
If you are being very active
and sweating a lot for a prolonged period of time, sports medicine
experts suggest
about a liter of fluids per hour. The most important
advice in avoiding heatstroke
and related problems is probably simply to avoid hot
environments
if you're going to be active. A good rave/dance club is cool and has
good air flow.
Moderate water intake
treats dehydration from dancing. That's it. It's not an antidote to
MDMA, nor is dehydration a real problem with MDMA in the absence of
prolonged heavy exercise. Drink a little, but don't worry about it
either way
if you aren't dancing.
Got a Plan?
So, what's your goal? What you want from MDMA will
affect how much you'll want to take, where to use, etc.
• If you aren't an experienced user and
just want to try it out and see what it's like, you may be happiest
with a low dose
at home with a good friend (or two or ten or however many want to join
in.) In later experiences (once you're familiar with its effects)
you
can increase dose or try more stimulation-rich environments if desired.
• If you want to pursue therapeutic
uses, I'd go with a moderate dose in an environment that feels safe
and comfortable to you, either by yourself or (ideally) with somebody
who is compassionate and aware of your goals (what problems you want
to address.) Ideally this would be a psychiatrist or other counselor.
• If the goal is to party and have
a wild night out, you'll need to plan when to take it. If you're going
to dose at home then head out you must have a designated driver
or other transportation plans that aren't dependent on your sobriety.
Yes, you usually have around 30-45 minutes until full effects...but
it could also take as little as 20 minutes, and there appear to be
minor
effects even before you actually feel 'high'. You really don't want
to be behind the wheel when it kicks in. Likewise, have a plan for
getting
home. When you come down, you'll probably be tired and distracted...it's
best if somebody else drives you home.
How does the environment affect MDMA? Is a rave really that different
from home use?
Yes! How 'high' you get depends (more
or less) on the amount of serotonin and other neurotransmitters released.
MDMA will release some serotonin, but your brain will also release additional
serotonin in response to external stimulation. What that means is that
if you use MDMA in a 'positive' environment (good company, music, lights,
etc.) your brain will ramp up the drug's effects even higher by releasing
more serotonin than MDMA alone can.
Because of this interplay between drug
and environment, you have a great deal of control over the experience
based on your choices. If you want to go sit in a dark quiet room, you
can have a perfectly boring, pointless experience. On the other hand,
given a stimulating, comfortable environment the same dose of MDMA can
produce a very powerful and rich experience. Home use is fine (and the
best place to start if you aren't entirely comfortable with the idea
of mind-altering drugs), but I recommend having company or, failing
that, at least some good music.
Warning: If you're out dancing,
avoid hot, crowded clubs and take short breaks (just a minute here
and
there is helpful to avoid overheating.)
Whether the rave environment would appeal
to you is a personal call. The best raves are usually small, not very
publicly promoted (you need to know people) and involve a lot of illegal
drugs but little or no alcohol. That alcohol availability is considered
a bad thing is probably a surprise to the average 'party hard' type,
but it's absolutely true. You might think that two groups using drugs
that make them cheerful and sociable would be a natural mesh, but in
spite of the surface similarities, alcohol and MDMA are very different
creatures. Not to put too fine a point on it, drunk people are morons.
They're loud, stupid, horny, and can easily become combative...almost
the exact opposite
of somebody on MDMA. Ironically, the alcohol industry has been one
of the most outspoken anti-MDMA groups, even
backing anti-MDMA legislation. Their motivation isn't surprising:
People on MDMA drink less alcohol (or not at all.) When MDMA use
goes
up, booze sales fall. Given the higher rate of death, injury, addiction,
violent crime, etc. associated with alcohol vs. MDMA use, you would
think that the governments would at least tolerate this
shift. (Visit Risks and Prohibition
for more info.)
Dosage and Methods of Use
How much should you take?
That depends on your body weight (and
to a lesser degree, your sex.) From a technical standpoint, the typical
dosage range is about 1-2 mg/kg. What that means is that if you weigh
100 kg (220 pounds) you would want to take from 100-200 mg of MDMA.
(If you're used
to working in terms of pounds, divide by 2.2 to get weight in kilograms.)
If calculations give you brain freeze,
a more practical approach is "one or two pills per 220 pounds
of body weight." So, if you weigh around 220 pounds one decent
pill should give a mild pleasant buzz, while two may give a hell
of a ride.
A small person (say, 100 pounds) of course should take less...they
may get acceptable results with only half a pill. (This is based
on an assumption of an average pill contains about 100 mg of MDMA...more
recent data suggests the average pill is closer to 70 mg, which may
require taking more pills to get the desired effect (perhaps 2-3 average
pills for a large adult male.))
Women are also affected a little differently
than men at the same dose (per weight). They experience stronger subjective
effects (how 'high' they feel) but have smaller increases in blood pressure/pulse.
If you're female, you may want to start out at the lower end of the
dosage range and see how it affects you before pushing things higher.
A few words on patterns of use:
It's best to only take a single dose
of MDMA in an evening. Many people will take more when they start to
'come down' off the first dose. This practice may or may not be safe.
It seems likely that multiple dosing like this will increase the risk
of overheating as dopamine levels steadily rise and the dopamine suppressing
effects of serotonin are reduced by decreasing serotonin levels. Although
a lot of people are obviously doing this without
obvious ill effects, in the absence of further research I'm not ready
to endorse multiple dosing as safe.
A less common approach to extending
an MDMA experience has been used and recommended by therapists: At
about
the one hour point, an additional small dose can be given to extend
the experience by about another hour. Traditionally this has meant
perhaps a 40 mg 'booster' dose given to a patient who is about
an hour into the effects from a 120 mg dose. This is certainly safer
than taking additional full doses, but will still make side effects
slightly worse.
Can MDMA be taken in ways other than orally?
You can use a drug any way that will
get it into you system. In my opinion, MDMA is by far best suited for
oral use.
• Variations on oral use: Users
have come up with some creative ways to ingest MDMA besides just swallowing
the pills. In one approach called parachuting the pill is crushed
up and twisted into a piece of tissue paper and swallowed. The idea
is simply that the crushed pill will dissolve more quickly than a whole
pill, causing a more rapid, stronger onset. Another approach is to
dissolve the pill (crushing it first will speed up the process) in
liquid and drink it. MDMA has a strong bitter taste, but can be
made reasonably
palatable by using orange juice, soda, or other beverage as the liquid.
Some truly hardy users will chew the pills or hold them under their
tongue,
again in an attempt to speed the dissolving of the pill and the onset
of effects. It's not clear if any of these methods really make a large
difference.
• Snorting: Insufflation
('snorting') enjoys some popularity. Since MDMA is actually a salt
(MDMA
hydrochloride) it's going to burn your sinuses like a sonofabitch.
If you don't mind the burn, the dripping sinuses, and the nasty taste
in
the back of your throat, snorting MDMA can make the onset of effects
faster as well as increasing the strength of a given dose. Ideally,
one would have pure MDMA powder for this use, but not everyone can
find it. Snorting crushed up pills shouldn't be noteably more harmful,
although
you'll get a good deal more crap up in your sinuses (pill binders,
etc.) that way.
• Injecting: There are very
few reports on the use of MDMA through injection. One of these reports
is a coroner's case study (the user having been killed in the process.)
The few times I've heard from users who have tried injecting the effects
were described as 'harsh, too speedy...overwhelming.' Injecting also
carries inherent risks of infection and spreading disease. Crushed up
pills should never be injected, regardless of the drug: Relatively
insoluble binders in the pills may block small blood vessels, causing
localized tissue death. People have lost arms to gangrene this way (injecting
crushed up pills.) The decision is yours, but if you decide to pursue
this route, be extremely careful and start with very low doses, since
injecting a drug will deliver a much larger portion of it to your brain
much more quickly. The vast
Erowid Experience Vaults don't have even a single instance of injecting
MDMA, so this approach is clearly very rare.
• 'Plugging': If you have
the courage and the inclination, sticking a pill/capsule or suppository
of MDMA up your rear end is an option. Users who have tried this route
report a better 'quality' of onset with less stomach upset. Why would
anybody do such a thing? Well, most people wouldn't. But if you have
stomach problems, can't stand taking pills, or just have too much
time
on your hands it's a perfectly legitimate option. (Rectal drug administration
is sometimes used in hospitals; it's just not a common home approach.) A
description of one approach can be read at Erowid. Latex gloves
and some lubricant are recommenced.
• Transdermal: Perhaps the
rarest beast of all, one user has reported using an unusual solvent
to transport MDMA through the skin. Details
have not been made public.
• Smoking: A
few reports of mixed results. The freebase form would be more suitable
for smoking.
Ready to Roll?
Well, are you ready? A final checklist:
• Are you rested, relaxed, and reasonably
healthy?
• Have you tested your pills for
contents?
• Have you decided how much you
will take, and whether or not to take a supplemental dose?
• Do you plan to use 5-HTP or antioxidants?
If so, schedule them into your plans.
• Do you know where you'll be going/what
you'll be doing, and have a safe plan for getting around?
• Are you comfortable with the idea
of getting high? MDMA is very friendly and benign, but if you're scared
to death of the idea of altering your mental state for a few hours,
you can create problems.
That's about
it for preparations and warnings. Good luck. Relax and have fun.
'Rolling Tricks':
By popular demand. MDMA
can greatly enhance physical and other sensations, which has led users
to seek out interesting things to do to take advantage of this effect.
Generally,
anything that is pleasurable or produces a strong sensory input will
become that much more remarkable under the influence of MDMA. A short
list of popular items:
• Hugs. Maybe you'll look silly, but who cares?
• Ice cubes. Slowly slide an ice cube over your skin
(or better yet, have somebody else do it for you.)
• Massage/back rubs.
• Vicks Vapor-rub. Beyond the skin tingling effect, many
people enjoy inhaling the vapors for their bronchiodilating
effect.
• 'Light shows'. Get a bunch of glowsticks and wave 'em
around. MDMA enhances the aesthetic appreciation of simple sensory
pleasures and tends to produce a minor 'time lapse photography' effect,
where a quickly moving light produces solid trails of light in the
air.
|
Dance as if nobody was watching. |
Some other activities:
• Dance, dammit. Humans
were meant to dance. Put on some good music
and let it guide you, whether in groups or even
just by yourself. Since the dawn of our species, we have danced to
music beneath the stars; reclaim your humanity and rediscover one
of the most primal expressions of the joy of being alive.
• Prayer/meditation. Use whatever form you think
might please your god or the universe. For a simple meditative exercise,
just sit down, legs crossed, back strait, hands folded in your lap.
Slowly and deeply breath in and out, concentrating on your breathing.
• Sing along to music. At the very least, having
some good tunes to listen to is mandatory for a hedonistically intentioned
roll. Techno is particularly suitable with its fast beats and undemanding,
often uplifting themes, but anything you enjoy sober can be even
more enjoyable under the influence.
• Water. Showers, baths, swimming pools even.
Baths and hot tubs need to be approached with caution, since you
will be less
aware of any overheating...limit time in a hot tub to a few minutes
at the most.
Don't drown your fool self in the pool, but once the drug has taken
full effect and you've gauged your degree of impairment, it's a definite
possibility. (Unlike with alcohol, people on MDMA usually have a
high degree of awareness of their own level of intoxication, thanks
to MDMA being primarily a stimulant instead of a sedative.)
• Go for a walk. Physical activity/exercise is
very complimentary to MDMA, perhaps due to an additional release
of endorphins from it.
What not to do:
• Resist the urge to call up people you know and tell
them you love them.
• When the nice police officer insists that you stop
petting his incredibly soft drug-sniffing dog, stop. (True story.)
• For goodness sake, don't drive. This isn't normally
a problem, but now and then people do it.
On to Hangover: Recovery and
Contemplation.
[1] Harris DS, Baggott M, Mendelson J,
Mendelson JE, Jones RT "Subjective and hormonal effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine
(MDMA) in humans", Psychopharmacology (Berl), 2002; 162:396-405.
Abstract
