Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Ecstasy Last year, Ecstasy use among young people jumped an additional 20%. Since 1999, teen Ecstasy use increased by 71%. More than 12% of teens report trying Ecstasy at least once in their lives-- an increase from 10% in 2000, 7% in 1999 and 5% in 1995 an increase of 140% from 1995 to 2001. From 1998 to 1999, figures from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) for deaths from ecstasy increased 400%. Emergency Room visits involving ecstasy grew nine-fold from 1996-1999 most patients were under the age of twenty-five. Drinking too much water after taking ecstasy can be lethal according to "New Science, Nov 2000". After people have taken ecstasy, their blood contains unusually high concentrations of vasopressin. As levels of this hormone increase, the body retains more water diluting the sodium and other salts in the blood. This can swell the brain causing damage to the brain and nerve tissue. The proportion of eighth graders reporting any use of Ecstasy in the prior 12 months rose from 1.7 percent in 1999 to 3.1 percent in 2000. Among 10th-graders, the use of Ecstasy rose from 4.4 percent to 5.4 percent, and among 12th graders from 5.6 percent to 8.2 percent. Ecstasy then, would be used by more American teen-agers today than is