Ecstasy

Ecstasy is the name for a number of drugs, ideally for 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, which is also known as MDMA, E, X, or XTC. Sometimes other substituted phenethylamines are referred to as ectasy. In most contrives, ecstasy is an illegal drug. Ecstasy comes in tablet or pill form. Most commonly the tablets are swallowed. Clinical trials are currently being done to see if MDMA is useful for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety associated with terminal cancer.

The drug Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid,GHB, which is sometimes called liquid ecstasy is not Ecstasy.

History

On December 24, 1912, a German medicine company called Merck patented Ecstasy. The patent was granted in 1914.

In the 1950s, the United States army conducted several experiments with ecstasy, such as using it on animals.

Supply

Ecstasy, like most other illegal drugs in the United States, is widely available. Ecstasy is bought by the pill. Pills often cost from $10 to $20 each. In the United Kingdom, it is common to pay £2 or £3 per pill. In Australia, it is common for these pills to cost about $25, but they can range from $7 to over $40 each.

Legal Use

Ecstasy is illegal in the United States and was called a "Schedule I" drug. Schedule I drugs have no medical value and are highly addictive. Today, some people consider Ecstasy a "Schedule III" drug, because of it can be used in a therapy. Ectstasy has been shown to reduce fear, and would therefore be useful in psychotherapy, for pain relief (in patients with cancer) or for other mild forms of mental illnesses.

Techno

Techno is a form of electronic dance music (EDM) that emerged in Detroit, Michigan (USA) in the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988. Many styles of techno now exist, but Detroit techno is seen as the foundation upon which a number of subgenres have been built.

The initial take on techno arose from the melding of Eurocentric electronic music by artists such as Kraftwerk with African American music including funk, electro, Chicago house and electric jazz. Added to this is the influence of futuristic and fictional themes that are relevant to life in American late capitalist society—particularly the book The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler. Pioneering producer Juan Atkins cites Toffler's phrase "techno rebels" as inspiring him to use the word techno to describe the musical style he helped to create. This unique blend of influences aligns techno with the aesthetic referred to as afrofuturism. To producers such as Derrick May, the transference of spirit from the body to the machine is often a central preoccupation; essentially an expression of technological spirituality. In this manner: "techno dance music defeats what Adorno saw as the alienating effect of mechanisation on the modern consciousness".

Music journalists and fans of techno are generally selective in their use of the term; so a clear distinction can be made between sometimes related but often qualitatively different styles, such as tech house and trance. "Techno" is also commonly confused with generalized descriptors, such as electronic music and dance music.