Ecstasy
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Ecstasy Statistics
- In June 2000, the U.S. Customs Service intercepted some 9 million tablets of Ecstasy being smuggled into the United States.
- In July 2000, the U.S. Customs Service at Los Angeles International Airport seized 16 packages containing 2.1 million Ecstasy tablets (1,096 pounds) with an estimated street value of at least $41 million.
- Research has shown that people who used Ecstasy at least 25 times showed lowered serotonin levels for as long as a year after quitting.
- A survey conducted on high school seniors, showed that about 8% had tried Ecstasy at least once in their lives.
- About 5.5% of 19-22 year-olds surveyed had used Ecstasy in the previous year.
- Ecstasy-related emergency room incidents increased nationwide from 250 in 1994, to 637 in 1997, to 1,142 in 1998, to 2,850 in 1999.
- The amount of people being admitted for treatment of primary MDMA abuse is increasing in Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Texas.
- The vast majority of MDMA pills are produced in Belgium and the Netherlands, but recent reports indicate attempts to establish clandestine MDMA labs in CEWG sites such as Minneapolis, San Diego, and areas of Michigan and South Florida.
- As of 2000, as many as 6.4 million people had tried Ecstasy at least once in their lifetime. This is more than the the estimated 5.1 million lifetime Ecstasy users in 1999.
- 28% of teens know a friend or classmate who has used Ecstasy, with 17% knowing more than one Ecstasy user.
- 10% of teens say that they have been to a rave, at which Ecstasy was available at more than two-thirds of these events.
- Ecstasy use in 12th graders rose from 5.6% in 1999 to 8.2% in 2000, and for the first time. Additionally, 8th graders showed increased rates in their use of Ecstasy.
- Statistics show a boom in Ecstasy production and export from Europe. In 2000, 27.5 million Ecstasy tablets were among 10,000 kilos of drugs produced in Europe and seized overseas. In Europe 17m tablets were seized in 2000, 50 per cent more than in 1999.
- The Ecstasy smuggled from Europe to the US is worth more than $3 billion. According to European police sources, some of the Ecstasy comes from Britain or is trafficked by gangs with connections in the UK.