Addiction

Ecstasy is not physically addictive in the way that drugs like cocaine, nicotine and heroin are. Many users are, however, addicted to the emotional state they reach on the drug. Some feel they cannot live without it and become regular weekly users.

Ecstasy is seductive - many users secretly know they would have difficulty going without it in the future, but wouldn't like to admit to it in terms of addiction. Calling a regular ecstasy user an addict usually provokes a negative reaction.

tolerance

Frequent ecstasy use increases tolerance very quickly. Increasingly higher doses are needed to reach an 'acceptable' high. The more you use it the less you feel the loved up empathic feelings and the more the speedy amphetamine buzz takes over.

Regular users rarely come close to the novelty and surprise of first discovering the ecstasy state. To avoid the build-up of tolerance long breaks should be left between use (at least two months).

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long-term effects

The after-effects and long-term effects seem a little hushed
up, often by the users themselves. The majority of regular users try to ignore the increases in tolerance, the harder come-downs, the mood swings, the short-term memory loss, the inability to concentrate and just see it as an acceptable price to pay.

There is evidence that even moderate regular use of ecstasy can lead to memory impairment. See our report on this here.