History

Who and invented ecstasy?

Ecstasy, or MDMA at it is chemically known as, was first isolated by the German pharmaceutical company Merck in 1912.

When was ecstasy invented?

MDMA was first isolated in 1912. The drug was patented by the German pharmaceutical company Merck on Christmas eve 1914 ...best Christmas present ever :-)

What purpose did Merck have for MDMA?

(by Tommy Kristiansen) (back to top)

There exist many urban myths as to what purpose Merck had in store for the drug. It was however neither applied to the war-industry, nor as a diet pill. Merck actually patented MDMA as a precursor agent - or “intermediate structure compound, possessing properties deemed to contain primary constituents for therapeutically active compounds”. In lay terms that would mean that Merck hoped that MDMA could be a suitable base from which they could produce other drugs that would be more useful. The company was however not overly exited about MDMA and its potential as a precursor agent, and it was never marketed and totally ignored for the next 40 years

When was MDMA first used by humans?

(by Tommy Kristiansen) (back to top)

After Merck lost interest in MDMA during the first decade of the last century, the drug was totally overlooked until it was taken into use during some animal experiments conducted by the US Army in the early 1950s. We have to wait until the latter part of the 1960s before we can obtain certain evidence of human consumption though. Although Alexander Shulgin (1925 - ) was not the first person to test the drug on himself, he is largely regarded as the stepfather of ecstasy. Dr Shulgin and his wife Ann came across the drug during their 30-year controversial self-testing research into more than 200 various phenethylamines. Dr. Shulgin synthesised MDMA in 1965, but did not try it until he in 1967 witnessed how the drug had helped one of his students fight his stuttering. Shulgin became rather preoccupied with the medical potential of MDMA, and quickly started regarding to it as a psychological wonder drug. The probable date, or even year, of first human consumption of MDMA cannot easily be pinpointed. A qualified guess however would place it in the first parts of the 1960s .

Recommended reading: Shulgin & Shulgin: "Pihkal - A chemical love story"

What purpose did the first users have for it?

(by Tommy Kristiansen) (back to top)

The early users mostly experimented with MDMA for therapeutic and euphoric reasons. The early users never experienced much with the effects different settings had on MDMA, nor did they look much into the relationship between MDMA and music. MDMA was a drug to enhance social interaction.

Why did psychiatrists use MDMA?

(by Tommy Kristiansen) (back to top)

Shulgin became rather preoccupied with the medical potential of MDMA, and quickly started referring to it as a psychological wonder drug in the late 1960s. In 1977 Dr. Shulgin came across an elderly therapist working out of Oakland, who he only refers to as “Adam”. After being introduced to MDMA, “Adam” cancelled his retirement plans and set out on a crusade to inform as many therapists as possible about the drugs’ potential. Post mortem estimates done by “Adam’s” daughter indicate that the therapist successfully diffused MDMA to around 4000 colleagues across the USA. The drug quickly became popular in some psychiatrical circles due to its empathy-creating abilities, and even though MDMA were eventually classified as a dangerous drug with no medical purpose, many scientists still believed then and believe today that the drug has a great medical potential that deserves closer investigation.

When did MDMA first become popular as a recreational drug?

(by Tommy Kristiansen) (back to top)

Most theories regard the rise of MDMA as a popular drug in combination with the merger between music, lights, people, and drugs during the many rave parties that started to pop up in England and the rest of Europe during the the last few years of the 1980s. These parties had it's predecessor on the Island of Ibiza some years back, and consumption of MDMA in club setting had also been reported in the USA in the late 1970s, but mainstream consciousness of the drug was not obtained until the era of the first euro-raves.

How did MDMA become popular as a recreational drug?

(by Tommy Kristiansen) (back to top)

When patients experienced the euphoric pleasures of MDMA, now often just referred to as “Adam”, during sessions of therapy it did not take long before a recreational user base was established. The early clandestine producers had, in relation to the effects of the drug, attempted to sell it under the name “empathy”, but soon changed the name to the more marketable “ecstasy”. Many theories have been launched to explain the popularity of the drug and its impact on recreational drug using patterns,. The theory one wishes to adapt will differ according to ones definition of what can be regarded as "popular". Most theories however regard the rise of MDMA as a popular drug in combination with the merger between music, lights, people, and drugs during the many rave parties that stated to pop up in England and the rest of Europe during the the last few years of the 1980s. These parties had it's predecessor on the Island of Ibiza some years back, and consumption of MDMA in club setting had also been reported in the USA in the late 1970s. Consumption of Ecstasy did not become widely know, or popularized, until the rave scene emerged.

When was MDMA first referred to as "ecstasy"?

(by Tommy Kristiansen) (back to top)

In the late 1970s

When did ecstasy and the rave-scene merge?

(by Tommy Kristiansen) (back to top)

in the late 1980s in Europe, in the early 1990s in America and the rest of the world