ER Ecstasy Drug Use Soars By 75 Percent In Hospital Visits

By: Andy Hodges
03/25/2011 08:46 AM ET

ER Ecstasy. The number of ER visits related to the illicit drug Ecstasy increased 75 percent between 2004 and 2008. The U.S. government reports that hospital emergency rooms treated 17,865 patients in 2008 for medical problems caused by the drug.

Ecstasy can cause agitation, heat stroke and heart failure, according to the study released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In 2004, Ecstasy-related ER visits numbered 10,220.

The resurgence of Ecstasy use is cause for alarm that demands immediate attention and action, said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde in an agency news release.

More than two-thirds of these ER patients were between 18 and 29 years old, but a sizable number — nearly 18 percent — were from 12 to 17, the report said, noting Ecstasy use is increasing among teens.

Ecstasy — also known as MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) — is often used at all-night parties called raves. Its reputation as a “club” or party drug belies the medical and mental dangers of even casual use, the report authors said.

Addiction, blurred vision, high blood pressure, heat stroke, muscle cramping and kidney failure are also linked to Ecstasy use, the report said.

“Amphetamine use continues to be a significant problem for adolescents and young adults. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality,” said Dr. Lewis Goldfrank, chairman of emergency medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

“It remains to be determined how severe the long-term neurotoxic effects may be on the brain,” Goldfrank said. “There is no reason for anyone to believe that the use of this drug is safe at some dose — the risk is consequential at any dose.”