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First appearing in the mid-1990s, writes Pierre Loza, Ecstasy is increasingly widespread among Egypt's upper-class young

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Ecstasy is believed to have entered Egypt in the mid-1990s -- in the form of muscle-building supplements. A staple of the electronic music scene, "the rave drug" is today consumed in a wide variety of nightlife contexts. "The first time I tried Ecstasy was in a rave party in Sharm El-Sheikh," one young man testified on condition of anonymity. "What usually happens is that a friend will pop a pill in your mouth while you dance." It is hard to say where production is most rampant, though fingers by and large point to Europe. "When we got our stuff," the young man went on, "we were told that it came from Amsterdam." The drug's street names include the Hug Drug, Sweeties and E; and individual tablet brands bear their own names and logos, which are meant to reflect differences of effect: Bad Boy, for example (a frowning face), brings out the aggressive side of the user. Different as they may be in chemical composition -- and it is this that produces variations in the experience of the drug -- Ecstasy tablets all contain, as their principal active ingredient, the compound Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), which can alternatively be snorted, injected or administered as a suppository. Users tend to agree that, no matter which brand they opt for, the effect tends to be essentially the same. "Unlike heroin," the aforementioned source explained, "which feels more like a sedative, Ecstasy is an upper -- it makes you hyperactive and you can't stop dancing all night..." An Ecstasy tablet containing 100mg of MDMA typically costs LE100-120. Users run the risk of ingesting other drugs passed off as Ecstasy. Phencyclidine (PCP), for example, also known as angel dust, has been known to cause seizures, coma and, occasionally, instant death.

MDMA was patented in 1913 by the German pharmaceutical company Merck, apparently as a dietary pill (due to its effect as a hunger suppressant). In 1953 the US army tested the drug for use as a "truth serum". Not until the mid-1960s, however, were its mood-lifting qualities popularised, when Alexander Shulgin, a controversial American research chemist, tested it on himself. By the 1980s, psychiatrists were routinely prescribing it for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. In 1985, its long-term dangers having emerged, Ecstasy was finally outlawed in the US. Later on, following the publication of his book Phenethylamines I Have known and Loved (PIHKA, 1994), Shulgin's licence was withdrawn. Today Ecstasy users -- many are seen holding a bottle of water while they dance -- risk, among other adverse effects, severe dehydration, hyperthermia (potentially fatal), heart stroke, seizures and high blood pressure. They also risk permanent brain damage, kidney and cardiovascular failure and muscle breakdown. Palpitations, high blood pressure, faintness and cramping are among the consequences of an Ecstasy overdose, which, the more severe cases of which result in loss of consciousness and seizures. A recent US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) study found Ecstasy use to be a direct cause of brain damage, however. According to NIDA staff writer Robert Mathias, "MDMA harms neurons that release serotonin, a brain chemical thought to play an important role in regulating memory and other functions". A related study found memory problems to be directly correlated to MDMA intake. On an international scale, Ecstasy use is alarmingly high. According to a NIDA report published in 2003, an estimated 470,000 people in the US, aged 12 and older, used MDMA every 30 days.

In Egypt the issue lacks statistics and research. Egyptian detoxification physician, Nabil El-Qutt, takes issue with the way addiction is dealt with: "Dealing with addicts, the judiciary system just hands down sentences of guilty or not guilty. There are no opportunities for counselling -- no way out." Nor do public hospitals have adequate detox programmes: "The techniques in place are outdated, they lag behind those used in, say, Saudi Arabia." One such programme, the 12-step method, combines medical treatment with personal growth. After accepting his condition and being relieved of withdrawal symptoms, the addict is encouraged to seek spiritual fulfilment. "It is at this point that they go and make it up with people they've hurt or violated while still addicted." Successful graduates of the programme are often employed to assist in the treatment of new addicts. Given the social stigma attached to it, drug addiction is a high risk epidemic present in most societies today. Whether their behaviour results from personal, emotional or social problems, it is necessary that addicts should be given the chance to start a new life. Heavy-handed legal intervention without adequate rehabilitation can only make things worse. "No one understands the pain of being a drug addict like someone who has been through the experience," the aforementioned Ecstasy user, who has been off the drug for several months, explains. "This is why I'm under the obligation to help addicts fight it through, the way people supported me when I was in that situation myself."