Ecstasy

MDMA (3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine), commonly referred to as Ecstasy, is a psychoactive drug possessing stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. Ecstasy possesses chemical variations of the stimulant amphetamine or methamphetamine and a hallucinogen, most often mescaline.

Ecstasy is taken orally, usually in tablet or capsule form, and its effects last approximately four to six hours. Users of the drug say that it produces profoundly positive feelings, empathy for others, elimination of anxiety, enhancement of the senses, and extreme relaxation. Ecstasy is also said to suppress the need to eat or sleep, enabling users to endure two- to three-day parties. Consequently, Ecstasy use sometimes results in severe dehydration or exhaustion.

Ecstasy users may encounter problems similar to those experienced by amphetamine and cocaine users, including addiction. In addition to its rewarding effects, ecstasy's psychological effects can include confusion, depression, sleep problems, anxiety, and paranoia during, and sometimes weeks after, taking the drug. Physical effects can include muscle tension, involuntary teeth-clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating. Increases in heart rate and blood pressure are a special risk for people with circulatory or heart disease. Ecstasy-related fatalities at raves have been reported. The stimulant effects of the drug, which enable the user to dance for extended periods, combined with the hot, crowded conditions usually found at raves can lead to dehydration, hyperthermia, and heart or kidney failure. Ecstasy use damages brain serotonin neurons. Serotonin is thought to play a role in regulating mood, memory, sleep, and appetite. Recent research indicates heavy ecstasy use causes persistent memory problems in humans.

Narconon (from non-narcosis, or (“No-Drugs!”) is used both to refer to the Narconon Drug Rehab Program as well as to the international network of Narconon rehab centers. The Narconon program is designed to get drug or alcohol abusers off drugs and back in control of their lives. Drug abuse is a hellish problem. It degrades individuals, destroys families, and corrupts communities. None of us are free from its effects. Many of us have watched it consume someone we love.

Utilizing the research and developments of American author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, Narconon was founded in the Arizona State Prison by an inmate and former heroin addict, William Benitez. The original group of ten inmates expanded to over one hundred within the first year and due to unprecedented success of the program, Narconon rapidly spread to other prisons. In 1971 the program was made available to the public with the opening of the first street program in Los Angeles. After much success in the early days of the Narconon Los Angeles program, we have since grown into facilities that are more modern and are geographically better located. Today we are recognized as Narconon Southern California, Inc. in Newport Beach, California. Narconon has continued to breathe new life to thousands of substance abusers and their families for over 30 years, and will continue to be a vital part of our society for years to come.

Today there are Narconon centers throughout the Western world, in Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Australia, as well as across the United States.

According to one study by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the majority of patients treated for heroin addiction or heavy cocaine addiction were using drugs again. Reports showed that drug use was at least once a week within a year after they finished treatment. These findings are unfortunately typical of most treatment methods.

In these times of failing drug treatment programs, Narconon deliver results documented by social research groups. An independent Spanish study done by Tecnicos Asociados de Investigacion y Marketing showed that 70% of Narconon graduates stayed off drugs. An independent American study reported that 86% of Narconon clients were still off drugs two years after their programs.

A Narconon graduate is not left with the urge to relapse, nor does he need to be put on other medications to make him stable. Narconon graduates are brought back to life: confident, in control and able to achieve their goals without the use of drugs.

For millions of individuals personally caught up in the trap of drug addiction or alcoholism, and the millions of others who are also directly or indirectly affected, Narconon drug rehab centers provide a real and workable route back to freedom from drug and alcohol abuse.