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Discussion => Drug safety => Topic started by: paxpax on July 11, 2013, 02:03 am

Title: The MDMA Compendium
Post by: paxpax on July 11, 2013, 02:03 am
It amazes me with the knowledge at our fingertips the amount of misinformation that still surrounds MDMA. This post is my attempt to clear up some common misconceptions and myths. I will add to it as new things come to mind and try to make it as all inclusive as I possibly can.

What makes me such an authority on the subject? I have been around this drug for many years. I am intimately aware of it's manufacturing processes and the lore that surrounds it. I have a solid background in the field and have fact checked everything that you will see listed here.

The aim of this post is harm reduction and consumer education.

With that out of the way, lets begin:

What is MDMA:
A fair place to begin, I will try to just breeze over the boring history lesson as I think many of us are aware of it's humble beginnings. MDMA was initially created by a German pharmaceutical company as an appetite suppressant. It later resurfaced in the 70's and was much praised as a psychological tools. Long story short, it was eventually emergency scheduled by the DEA in 1985 as a schedule I substance. A very good chronological break down can be read here http://thedea.org/drughistory.html

What Does MDMA Do:
MDMA is an empathogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes of drugs. It functions by binding to receptors in the brain (5HT-1A IIRC) and limits the reuptake of seratonin while simutaneously causing expression. It also increases levels of oxytocin, the same chemical released during orgasm, hugging and during child bonding. IMO the oxytocin is what really contains the magic of MDMA.

How Is It Available:
MDMA is commonly available in pressed pill form and crystal form. Both are known to contain various levels of cut and impurities. 

Crystal comes in a variety of colors although Pure MDMA crystal is a brilliant translucent crystal that refracts light. Off color crystals contain impurities, although even white crystal may contain impurities. A simple wash and crystalization process can be performed to clean up impurities. The issue with crystal MDMA is it's ability to be cut at any level of the distribution process.  Because crystal MDMA is indistinguishable from anyone other crystal MDMA, it is easy to cut without report from users.

Pills are typically colored and stamped with a specific logo. The logo is intended to identify the pill amongst it's peers. Because of this, pill quality has been rising as of late, mostly due to competition with crystal forms of MDMA. The consumer is now better educated and information on pressed pills flows more freely forcing distributors to use higher quality pills in order to profit from the stamp. A stamped pill identified as fake or of poor quality is quickly identified and shared on many popular websites. It is in the distributors best interest to create high quality pills in order to keep sales up.

Purity:

In crystal form MDMA is often cited as being 84% pure. 84% pure crystal MDMA is 100% pure MDMA.HCL. It is unlikely that a single distributor has lab tested any of their product, any claims of purity should be met with skepticism.

In pill form MDMA if often cut with speed, not for the purpose of bulking up the pill but to give the user additional energy. Pure MDMA, while a stimulant has a very "flooring" effect.

Routes of Administration - Dosage Guide

Dosage:
Common dosage is anywhere between 125 - 250mg and will depend on route of administration. The response curve of MDMA is rather linear and risk of overdose is low. Most users opt for a stepped approach taking a "booster" of 50 - 100mg after the initial effects are felt. In this case it is wise to start with a smaller initial dose.

As the effect where on, many users opt to try and use more MDMA. This is unwise, after a certain threshold additional dosing has little affect and simply increases other side affects.

Routes of administration:

Oral -

The most common method of getting MDMA into your bloodstream. Typical time form dose to first effects is about 30 min depending on stomach contents.

Insuffilation -

MDMA may be crushed and insuffilated. This is a common method for taking the booster and works well with crystal MDMA. Effects take ~5 mins. Some users report a more intense come up and increased "jitters". The same may be don with pressed pills but it is not typically recommended due to binders and fillers that are present in every press.

Rectal

Rectal administration may be preferable is users have issues with nausea. Bioavalability is rumored to be higher with this route of administration although no study has ever been published confirming it. To administer rectally the best and easiest method is to crush the crystal mdma or pill and mix with 5 to 10ml water. Some people prefer distilled water, although the benefits of such may be negligible. The user would lay on their side or belly and use a infant medicine syringe or standard lurlock san needle to inject the solution directly into the anus. Effects are typically realized in 10 to 20 minutes. Alternatively, pressed pills may be inserted directly into the rectum up to at least the second knuckle.

Nutrition:

Coming soon

Who Shouldn't use MDMA

Anyone on SSRI - This combination is dangerous
History of cardiovascular issues
Issues with liver or kidney toxicity or recent infection
--Incomplete---

Other Reading

A great wash and crystalization tek
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=45508.0

A great write up on bluelight - Thank you correctly
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/79027-MDMA-Essential-Guide-v1-00?s=

The Errowid Vault
https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/mdma/mdma.shtml

The MDMA Avengers SR Thread
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=129424.0


---- That is a good start, More to Come ---

 
Title: Re: The MDMA Compendium
Post by: marcellus_wallace on July 11, 2013, 02:16 am
Thanks a lot for all the information, it would be nice if you could update it with dosage and usage recommendations.
Title: Re: The MDMA Compendium
Post by: p0och on July 11, 2013, 02:35 am
Thanks Pax great writeup.

Can you elaborate on how speed effects it and what do you mean by "flooring" if consuming just pure MDMA?
Title: Re: The MDMA Compendium
Post by: fractalglobal on July 11, 2013, 02:49 am
I think any thread relating to the history/pharmacology of MDMA isn't complete without references to Alexander Shulgin and his work  ;).

For those unaware, Shulgin is the one responsible for re-introducing MDMA to society in the 70's.  He is also the chemist who first discovered the 2C-X family(2C-B etc) as well as the DOX family.(DOM, DOB, etc)  Ironically, he made these discoveries while working as a consultant for the DEA.

The following is a quote from his book "PiHKAL; Phenethylamines I Have Known And Loved."  It should be a good reference for dosages.

Quote
DOSAGE: 80 - 150 mg.

DURATION: 4 - 6 h.

QUALITATIVE COMMENTS: (with 100 mg) MDMA intrigued me because everyone I asked, who had used it, answered the question, 'What's it like?' in the same way: 'I don't know.' 'What happened?' 'Nothing.' And now I understand those answers. I too think nothing happened. But something seemed changed. Before the 'window' opened completely, I had some somatic effects, a tingling sensation in the fingers and temples--a pleasant sensation, not distracting. However, just after that there was a slight nausea and dizziness similar to a little too much alcohol. All these details disappeared as I walked outside. My mood was light, happy, but with an underlying conviction that something significant was about to happen. There was a change in perspective both in the near visual field and in the distance. My usually poor vision was sharpened. I saw details in the distance that I could not normally see. After the peak experience had passed, my major state was one of deep relaxation. I felt that I could talk about deep or personal subjects with special clarity, and I experienced some of the feeling one has after the second martini, that one is discoursing brilliantly and with particularly acute analytical powers.

(with 100 mg) Beforehand, I was aware of a dull, uncaring tiredness that might have reflected too little sleep, and I took a modest level of MDMA to see if it might serve me as a stimulant. I napped for a half hour or so, and woke up definitely not improved. The feeling of insufficient energy and lack of spark that I'd felt before had become something quite strong, and might be characterized as a firm feeling of negativity about everything that had to be done and everything I had been looking forward to. So I set about my several tasks with no pleasure or enjoyment and I hummed a little tune to myself during these activities which had words that went: 'I shouldn't have done that, oh yes, I shouldn't have done that, oh no, I shouldn't have done that; it was a mistake.' Then I would start over again from the beginning. I was stuck in a gray space for quite a while, and there was nothing to do but keep doing what I had to do. After about 6 hours, I could see the whole mental state disintegrating and my pleasant feelings were coming back. But so was my plain, ornery tiredness. MDMA does not work like Dexedrine.

(with 120 mg) I feel absolutely clean inside, and there is nothing but pure euphoria. I have never felt so great, or believed this to be possible. The cleanliness, clarity, and marvelous feeling of solid inner strength continued throughout the rest of the day, and evening, and through the next day. I am overcome by the profundity of the experience, and how much more powerful it was than previous experiences, for no apparent reason, other than a continually improving state of being. All the next day I felt like 'a citizen of the universe' rather than a citizen of the planet, completely disconnecting time and flowing easily from one activity to the next.

(with 120 mg) As the material came on I felt that I was being enveloped, and my attention had to be directed to it. I became quite fearful, and my face felt cold and ashen. I felt that I wanted to go back, but I knew there was no turning back. Then the fear started to leave me, and I could try taking little baby steps, like taking first steps after being reborn. The woodpile is so beautiful, about all the joy and beauty that I can stand. I am afraid to turn around and face the mountains, for fear they will overpower me. But I did look, and I am astounded. Everyone must get to experience a profound state like this. I feel totally peaceful. I have lived all my life to get here, and I feel I have come home. I am complete.

(with 100 mg of the "R" isomer) There were the slightest of effects noted at about an hour (a couple of paresthetic twinges) and then nothing at all.

(with 160 mg of the "R" isomer) A disturbance of baseline at about forty minutes and this lasts for about another hour. Everything is clear by the third hour.

(with 200 mg of the "R" isomer) A progression from an alert at thirty minutes to a soft and light intoxication that did not persist. This was a modest +, and I was at baseline in another hour.

(with 60 mg of the "S" isomer) The effects began developing in a smooth, friendly way at about a half-hour. My handwriting is OK but I am writing faster than usual. At the one hour point, I am quite certain that I could not drive, time is slowing down a bit, but I am mentally very active. My pupils are considerably dilated. The dropping is evident at two hours, and complete by the third hour. All afternoon I am peaceful and relaxed, but clear and alert, with no trace of physical residue at all. A very successful ++.

(with 100 mg of the "S" isomer) I feel the onset is slower than with the racemate. Physically, I am excited, and my pulse and blood pressure are quite elevated. This does not have the 'fire' of the racemate, nor the rush of the development in getting to the plateau.

(with 120 mg of the "S" isomer) A rapid development, and both writing and typing are impossible before the end of the first hour. Lying down with eyes closed eliminates all effects; the visual process is needed for any awareness of the drug's effects. Some teeth clenching, but no nystagmus. Excellent sleep in the evening.

EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: In clinical use, largely in psychotherapeutic sessions of which there were many in the early years of MDMA study, it became a common procedure to provide a supplemental dosage of the drug at about the one and a half hour point of the session. This supplement, characteristically 40 milligrams following an initial 120 milligrams, would extend the expected effects for about an additional hour, with only a modest exacerbation of the usual physical side-effects, namely, teeth clenching and eye twitching. A second supplement (as, for instance, a second 40 milligrams at the two and a half hour point) was rarely felt to be warranted. There are, more often than not, reports of tiredness and lethargy on the day following the use of MDMA, and this factor should be considered in the planning of clinical sessions.

With MDMA, the usual assignments of activity to optical isomers is reversed from all of the known psychedelic drugs. The more potent isomer is the "S" isomer, which is the more potent form of amphetamine and methamphetamine. This was one of the first clear distinctions that was apparent between MDMA and the structurally related psychedelics (where the "R" isomers are the more active). Tolerance studies also support differences in mechanisms of action. In one study, MDMA was consumed at 9:00 AM each day for almost a week (120 milligrams the first day and 160 milligrams each subsequent day) and by the fifth day there were no effects from the drug except for some mydriasis. And even this appeared to be lost on the sixth day. At this point of total tolerance, there was consumed (on day #7, at 9:00 AM) 120 milligrams of MDA and the response to it was substantially normal with proper chronology, teeth clench, and at most only a slight decrease in mental change. A complete holiday from any drug for another 6 days led to the reversal of this tolerance, in that 120 milligrams of MDMA had substantially the full expected effects. The fact that MDMA and MDA are not cross-tolerant strengthens the argument that they act in different ways, and at different sites in the brain.

A wide popularization of the social use of MDMA occurred in 1984-1985 and, with the reported observation of serotonin nerve changes in animal models resulting from the administration of the structurally similar drug MDA, an administrative move was launched to place it under legal control. The placement of MDMA into the most restrictive category of the Federal Controlled Substances Act has effectively removed it from the area of clinical experimentation and human research. The medical potential of this material will probably have to be developed through studies overseas.

A word of caution is in order concerning the intermediate 3,4-methylene-dioxyphenylacetone, which has also been called piperonylacetone. A devilish ambiguity appeared in the commercial market for this compound, centered about its name. The controversy focused on the meaning of the prefix, piperonyl, which has two separate chemical definitions. Let me try to explain this fascinating chaos in non-chemical terms. Piperonyl is a term that has been used for a two-ring system (the methylenedioxyphenyl group) either without, or with, an extra carbon atom sticking off of the side of it. Thus, piperonylacetone can be piperonyl (the two-ring thing without the extra carbon atom attached) plus acetone (a three carbon chain thing); the total number of carbons sticking out, three. Or, piperonylacetone can be piperonyl (the two-ring thing but with the extra carbon atom attached) plus acetone (a three carbon chain thing); the total number of carbons sticking out, four.

Does this make sense?

The three carbon sticking out job gives rise to MDA and to MDMA and to many homologues that are interesting materials discussed at length in these Book II comments. This is the usual item of commerce, available from both domestic and foreign suppliers. But the four-carbon sticking out job will produce totally weird stuff without any apparent relationship to psychedelics, psychoactives or psychotropics whatsoever. I know of one chemical supply house which supplied the weird compound, and they never did acknowledge their unusual use of the term piperonyl. There is a simple difference of properties which might be of value. The three carbon (correct) ketone is an oil with a sassafras smell that is always yellow colored. The four carbon (incorrect) ketone has a weak terpene smell and is white and crystalline. There should be no difficulties in distinguishing these two compounds. But unprincipled charlatans can always add mineral oil and butter yellow to otherwise white solids to make them into yellow oils. Caveat emptor.
Title: Re: The MDMA Compendium
Post by: correctly on July 11, 2013, 12:53 pm
There is an excellent and must read thread of MDMA on bluelight

{CLEARNET}
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/79027-MDMA-Essential-Guide-v1-00?s=
{CLEARNET}
Title: Re: The MDMA Compendium
Post by: saulgood on July 11, 2013, 05:47 pm
This is a very good thread that AnimusVox started last year, that explains the mechanism of action of MDMA and contains lots of great info and links:

"MDMA is neurotoxic. Here are some guidelines you should follow when rolling."
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=66048.0

And as you all hopefully know, the first place you should be going to research a drug is Erowid:
https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/mdma/mdma.shtml