Ecstasy (MDMA) is the first of a new generation of mind-changing substances that is reported to transform personal relationships and boost self-esteem. Its effects have been described as opening people up to their intuition and feelings, leading to an expanded sense of self-awareness and empathy for others. After a decade of use by psychotherapists, MDMAsurged into public awareness and has been used by millions, prompting Newsweek to call it the "drug of choice of . . . the New Age movement."

Ecstasy: The MDMA Story chronicles MDMA, including the flip-flops in its legal status, psychological effects, erotic implications, methods of use, possible future, health risks, chemical structure and analogues, and a detailed description of the chemical synthesis of MDMA by renowned pharmacologist Dr. Alexander T. Shulgin.

This expanded second edition includes updates on the opening of government-sanctioned MDMA research in the USA, the latest information on health risks, and the "rave" scene in England and the USA. 

Although the treatment of mental problems is a most important use for MDMA, [Abraham] Maslow and other humanistic psychologists assert that the lack of pressing mental problems is not all there is to being healthy. There is another dimension to mental health -- toward increasing wellness and self-actualization. This is a use of MDMA for the rest of us.

The employment of MDMA for this purpose is not just recreational. The pursuit of self-discovery or of a spiritual path is a valid option for many who attempt to go beyond the shallow consumerism and pop veneer of modern life. These individuals are generally sound, healthy people who have an interest in becoming more creative, more loving, more effective. For these people, there is a questing after answers to the basic life questions -- where did we come from, why are we here, where are we going?

With MDMA, experiences are mostly pleasant, especially for healthy people who would use the substance for self-actualization. Other kinds of experiences like this include the alternative state of consciousness achieved by a long-distance runner in top form, the transcendent sexual orgasm that shatters the barriers between partners, and the "aha" feeling we get when everything is in harmony and working perfectly.