How Music Conquered the World TV - Dispatches TV - The Real Essex Boys TV - Rise of the Foot Soldier 2007 - Bonded By Blood 2010 - Katey - Horizon - How Drugs Work: Ecstasy TV - Drugs Inc TV - John Ramsey - Norman Cook - Douglass Rushkoff - Tim Pilcher - Gangsters: America’s Most Evil TV - Stacey Dooley TV - Gordon B Hinckley - Misha Glenny - Britain’s Underworld TV - Drugland TV - Drugs Map of Britain TV - Psychedelic Underworld TV - Vanguard: Forest of Ecstasy TV - Drugged TV - Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia TV - Dirty Pictures 2010 - My Extreme Drugs Diary TV - Dope 2017 - Liverpool Narcos TV - The Hacienda: The Club that Shook Britain TV - The Gold TV - Equinox: Rave New World TV - Undercover 2019 - Ibiza Narcos TV -
A sudden proliferation of ecstasy pills was an undeniable vital part. How Dance Music Conquered the World II: The Club, BBC 2018
Who sold the ecstasy tablet that killed Leah Betts? Dispatches: The Firm, Channel 4
For the Firm, Leah’s death was catastrophic. The public scrutiny was intense. ibid.
Policeman’s daughter Leah Betts was certainly facing potentially fatal consequences. Within hours of taking ecstasy she was rushed to Chelmsford Hospital where she fell into a deep coma. The Real Essex Boys
People started coming to me for all sorts. Rise of the Foot Soldier 2007 ***** starring Ricci Harnett & Terry Stone & Craig Fairbrass & Roland Manookian & Billy Murray & Frank Harper & Neil Maskell & Dave Legeno & Kieran Bew & Jason Maza Coralie Rose& et al, director Julian Gilbey, Carlton Leach’s commentary
The first time I’d ever touched drugs and got as close to God as chemically possible. ibid.
Peace by ecstasy. ibid.
This stuff really was going to change the world. ibid.
Why am I so fucking angry? ’Cause I can’t get that loving feeling no more. ’Cause the greedy bastard dealers won’t give me the pills to get the job done. Times change. Music changes. Drugs change. Summer of ’88: you ain’t never gonna get that again, mate. (GBH Films & Anger & Pills & Ecstasy & 1980s & Gangs UK: Essex) Bonded by Blood 2010 starring Tamer Hassan & Robert Fucilla & Vincent Regan & Terry Stone & Adam Deacon & Neil Maskell & Dave Legano & Johnny Palmiero & Duncan Meadows et al, director Sacha Bennett, Craig in jam-jar
Well I got a contact: brings in ecstasy in bulk. Good shit. Once a month. Regular as clockwork. ibid. Pat in club
Once again a girl is fighting for her life after taking an ecstasy pill on her eighteenth birthday. ibid. television news outside Raquel’s nightclub
It’s MDaMAzing! Katey, cited How Drugs Work: Ecstasy, BBC 2011
First synthesised in 1912 ecstasy was originally patented to control bleeding from wounds. But in the 1970s it was introduced illegally into the dance scene. Horizon: Is Alcohol Worse Than Ecstasy? BBC 2008
Over the past thirty years Ecstasy has become one of the most notorious drugs. No other illegal substance has had such an effect on fashion, music and how we party. Twenty years on from its acid house hey-day E and its crystal form MDMA still rank in the top three most popular illegal drugs in the UK. But for some people ecstasy has caused agony. How Drugs Work: Ecstasy, BBC 2011
Every year in the UK over half a million people use ecstasy. It’s become a big feature of British club culture ... Many users have swapped pills for the crystal form of the drug – named after its main active ingredient MDMA. ibid.
At the brain the molecules are carried through tiny capillaries whose walls are thick enough to protect the brain from most impurities. ibid.
MDMA, the main active ingredient in ecstasy, was first synthesised in Germany in 1912 and was originally intended to be used as a blood-clotting agent. ibid.
Tests have shown a huge variation in their quality. ibid.
At the 2009 Glastonbury festival John Ramsey’s test on confiscated pills showed that just 8% had MDMA. ibid.
Where one nerve meets another there are tiny gaps. Here the messages are relayed by the release of chemicals ... It releases the chemical Serotonin which affects our mood. Serotonin latches on to receptors on the neighbouring nerve cell starting a chain-reaction of feel-good messages. Normally excess Serotonin is reabsorbed into the nerve cell that released it but MDMA stops this process. ibid.
Results so far suggest ecstasy actually decreases the user’s ability to read negative emotions in others. ibid.
In this network a chemical messenger called dopamine transmits messages that control movement. It all results in a burst of physical energy. ibid.
No-one knows for sure if it causes significant long-term damage. ibid.
Ecstasy triggers a hormone that can make it difficult to urinate. So they can conserve more water than usual. Also people on ecstasy may drink more because they are dancing all night in hot sweaty nightclubs. This can raise the water levels in the body even further. High levels of water in the blood can cause massive problems when the blood reaches the brain – the cells swell with water causing the brain to crush against the skull. In catastrophic cases the swollen brain pushes down on the spinal column. ibid.
Getting too hot is another possible physical effect of ecstasy. ibid.
Experts think the big release of Serotonin in this part of the brain could be enough to stop the body’s thermostat working properly. ibid.
Many ecstasy users try to keep up until morning by taking more of the drug – but often the loved-up feelings elude them. That’s because there’s a limited supply of Serotonin available, and the massive release earlier has left the supplies depleted. The draining effects of the comedown don’t just last until after use. ibid.
The short-term depressive effects of ecstasy are well-known. But there are some that believe that far from causing depression, ecstasy can be used to treat it. ibid.
This year a major trial will begin testing MDMA in therapy for the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. ibid.
MDMA therapy remains controversial though. ibid.
It was the drug that took the nineties’ club scene by storm. For many users ecstasy remains the ultimate love drug. Yet organised drug gangs would kill for it. Drugs Inc s2e3: Ecstasy, National Geographic 2012
The active ingredient in ecstasy is MDMA. ibid.
Many users say the high starts with rushes of exhilaration and tingling sensations like butterflies. ibid.
Dehydration and overheating – the main cause of ecstasy casualties. ibid.
Ecstasy is also known as the love drug. ibid.
Days after taking the drug users can still suffer from mild exhaustion and Serotonin depletion. ibid.
Criminals will kill for a slice of the love drug market established to be worth more than $65 billion a year. ibid.
Mixing drugs at raves is common. ibid.
Ecstasy is making a comeback. ibid.
Ecstasy is smuggled from Canada and Europe. Drugs Inc s4e2: Jamaican Gangs, Guns & Ganja, National Geographic 2013
A popular club drug Molly. Drugs Inc s5e7: Molly Madness
Molly is powdered MDMA ... The buzz can last up to six hours. ibid.
80-90% of New York Molly tested by the DEA has no MDMA present. Drugs Inc s5e11: Dealer POV
Molly is ecstasy rebranded – marketed as ultra-pure MDMA crystal. Drugs Inc s6e6: Manic Molly
A shifting position in the drugs trade. ibid.
MDMA starts eight thousand miles away in Cambodia. ibid.
Only 17.5% of Molly seized by police contains MDMA. ibid.
‘We’re going to pick up 75 kilos of Molly. Pure MDMA. Total tab is $937,000.’ Drugs Inc s6e11: Spring Break, Charlie
For the spring breakers it’s the ideal party drug. ibid.
Recently switched from selling ecstasy to selling Molly. Drugs Inc s6e12: Sin-Dependence Day
It’s the national holiday ... Rambo’s strategy is to hand out free capsules. ibid.
Ecstasy has acquired a bad rep among hip-hoppers. Drugs Inc s7e2: Hip Hop High