Published June 16, 2021 · Reviewed by Sergey Litvinov, MD · ~635 words

Gateway drugs are a problem of their own. Almost nobody sets out to use anything harder than ecstasy, and the doses climb and the mixing with alcohol starts anyway. Treating the gateway addiction early is how the more serious use gets prevented. Pines Recovery Life runs substance use treatment programs and can help someone who is misusing drugs like ecstasy get their health back.

What is ecstasy?

Ecstasy is made in labs. It also goes by MDMA, XTC, X, E, Lover’s Speed, Disco Biscuit and Adam. It is built to produce the feelings of a hallucinogen and a stimulant at once. Side effects include:

• Sleep problems
• Nausea
• Confusion
• Tense muscles or muscle cramps
• Anxiety
• Sweating
• Depression
• Chills
• Cravings for the drug
• Blurry vision
• Paranoia

Most people do not take ecstasy on its own. They take several doses at once, or combine it with LSD, caffeine, cocaine, ephedrine, methamphetamine or ketamine.

It is usually taken at parties, where it is easy to take more than you meant to or to add alcohol and other drugs on top. That is what makes MDMA at a party more dangerous than the drug alone.

What it does to the body makes ecstasy addictive. Ecstasy addiction, also called MDMA addiction, needs treatment through a substance use rehab program.

What are gateway drugs?

Gateway drugs lead people toward more dangerous substances with a higher chance of addiction. The theory is that they change the brain in ways that make the craving stronger. Once brain chemistry shifts, harder drugs that release more dopamine and other “feel-good” chemicals become more likely.

Alcohol and marijuana are gateway drugs too. Tolerance builds, so the same effect takes a bigger amount, and eventually people move to something stronger to get there.

The trouble with the harder drugs is how much more it takes to get off them. Heroin, cocaine, and other opioids usually need medical supervision during detox to keep the patient safe. Those drugs are strong and very hard to quit without help.

Is ecstasy among the gateway drugs?

Ecstasy addiction can progress to addiction to stronger drugs such as methamphetamines or cocaine. Someone with an MDMA addiction has often already taken those drugs alongside ecstasy, and goes looking for them when they want a bigger effect.

Ecstasy addiction can predict cocaine, heroin or meth misuse later. Those drugs hit the brain and body harder, and an overdose of any of them can kill. Getting off ecstasy through a detox and recovery program lowers the chance of ever reaching them.

Contact Pines Recovery Life to get help for gateway drug use

Stopping gateway drug use can save a life. For information on our ecstasy addiction recovery program, contact Pines Recovery Life in South Florida. Send us a message with our contact form or phone us at 800.263.3869. Our detox programs, residential care and psychotherapies treat a range of substance use disorders, ecstasy addiction among them.