Eisner - Ecstasy: the MDMA Story

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Ecstasy: The MDMA Story

A remarkably complete, courageous and well-researched work.

American Book Review

It is possible Bruce Eisners book will play a role in dispelling misconceptions about MDMA. The book is a splendid summary of the drugs history, usage and effects.

Stanley Krippner, Ph.D.

author of Healing States, Dream Working, Personal Mythology

Bruce Eisner has spent time in both the world of academic psychology and as a journalist covering the psychedelic scene. He has written a masterly book about an important new mind-changer which is scholarly and readable. I enthusiastically recommend it!

Timothy Leary, Ph.D.

performing philosopher

The first compendium of the pertinent MDMA data. Eisners book is helpful, wise and balanced.

Peter Stafford

author of Psychedelics Encyclopedia

Bruce Eisner has created an excellent study of how hysterical and ignorant bureaucrats create drug problems while trying to solve drug problems. Before we plunge headlong into a totalitarian state, I wish every American citizen would read this book.

Robert Anton Wilson

This book presents the significant findings concerning MDMA, or Ecstasy... The very large numbers of people who now self-experiment with this drug should benefit from the wealth of informationincluding the fact that longer-term effects on the brain are still unknown...

It is absolutely certain that a new world is dawning in which alterations of brain function and states of consciousness will be accepted and of great value... A substance such as MDMAreminiscent as it is of Homers Nepenthewill banish many of the now normal woes of everyday life.

R. E. L. Masters, Ph.D.

co-author of The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience and Mind Games

Ecstasy: The MDMA Story

Second Edition

ISBN: 978-1-57951-145-6

Copyright 1989, 1994 by Bruce Eisner

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the author or the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Project Editors: Sebastian Orfali, Dan Joy, Ginger Ashworth

Manuscript Readers: Alexander Shulgin, Lester Grispoon, Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, Claudio Naranjo

Typography: Peter Stafford, Aiden Kelley

Cover: Copyright 1992: LordNose! (Mark Franklyn)

Chemical Drawing: C.hristopher and Kim Workdelay

Half-tones: Norman Mayell

Disclaimer:

Neither author nor the publisher condone or encourage the possession, use, manufacture of any illegal substances. The material herein is presented for reference and informational purposes only. The author and publisher advise against breaking the law and against any action involving hazard to person and/or property. Consult your attorney and physician. Readers are urged to support, authorized research and to work for more intelligent drug laws.

U.S. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Bruce Eisner

Ecstasy: The MDMA Story

Includes Appendix, Bibliography & Index

1. Psychology. 2. Hallucinogenic drugs. 3. Drug Lawsd 4. Psychopharmacology. I. Title.

Dedication

To David Banton

Acknowledgements

To Peter Stafford, who typeset this book three times and read it at least 17 times;

Alexander Shulgin, who offered generous help and guidance;

Kim and Christopher Workdelay for chemical drawings and comment.

Sebastian Orfali, who patiently guided me through the steps from manuscript to volume;

Claudio Naranjo, to whose Gurdjieff I attempt to play Ouspensky;

Irene Ehrlich, for support and encouragement;

Will Penna, for editing and suggestions on the second edition; and to the many therapists, anonymous pamphlet writers and other brave explorers who first ventured into the territories I have mapped.

The author has made every effort to trace the ownership of all copyright and quoted material presented. In the event of any question arising as to the use of a selection, he offers his apologies for any errors or omissions and will make the necessary corrections in future printings.

Thanks are due to the following:

Ralph Metzner, Through the Gateway of the Heart, ( 1985) Four Trees Press

Timothy Leary, Ph.D., Ecstatic Electricity, New York Talk, 1985 Claudio Naranjo, M.D., The Healing Journey ( 1973)

Joe Klien, The New Drug They Call Ecstasy: Is It Too Much to Swallow? ( 1988) New America Publishing, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of New York magazine

Alexander T. Shulgin, Ph.D., Twenty Years on My Ever-Changing Quest, Psychedelic Reflections ( 1983)

George Greer, M.D. and Requa Tolbert, R.N., MDMA: A New Psychotropic Compound and Its Effects in Humans ( 1986)

George Greer, M.D. Using MDMA in Psychotherapy, Big Sur, California, March 10-15, 1985 ( 1986)

Getting High on Ecstasy, ( Newsweek, April 15, 1985)

Peter Stafford, Psychedelics Encyclopedia ( 1983, 1992) Ronin Publishing, Inc.

Cynthia Robins, The Ecstatic Cybernetic Amino Acid Test, San Francisco Examiner Image, February 16, 1992

Contents

List of Illustrations

T HE FIRST EDITION of this book, published in February 1989, chronicled the introduction of a powerful psychoactive entity into the world. Nicknamed Adam after the primordial being, but known in chemical nomenclature as MDMA, this substance (methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine) is the most prominent member of a new generation of mind-altering compounds with family roots in the psychedelics. But unlike its predecessors such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin, this chemical has a personality that is precise, predictableand almost universally pleasant. By the time this book made its appearance, these qualities had already made Adamor Ecstasy, as it is now commonly calleda favorite among spiritual seekers, yuppies, and psychotherapists alike.

Release of the first edition occurred during perhaps the single most turbulent week in the history of the drug war. Headlines focused on the appointment of a new drug czar and stories appeared about marijuana dealers who reportedly ate their babies. Fear about Ecstasy and its possible effects on the brain was spreading. Around this time, recreational MDMA usewhich had been on a rapid upswingbegan to drop drastically and rumors about its dangers abounded.