ECSTASY

“At a rave party, I saw a guy who had stuffed himself with Ecstasy, repeat for hours: ‘I am an orange, don’t peel me, I am an orange, don’t peel me.’ Another guy thought he was a fly and wouldn’t stop hitting his head against a window.” —Liz

“Rave parties are okay, so long as you don’t take Ecstasy. But as soon as you start, you think people who advise you to stop are idiots. You start to believe you have found something great and others must not try to tell you the contrary. When you start liking Ecstasy, it’s too late, you’re sunk.” —Pat

“Luckily, I am alive, but I’m left with the days, months and years after the trauma. I have to deal with what it’s done to me for my whole life—I’ve been experiencing everything, you name it.

“Depression, anxiety, stress, [recurring] nightmares of the night, and bad headaches were a few things that affected me after I took Ecstasy. I almost died. It only took me one night, a few [Ecstasy] pills, and drinking alcohol. This drug is very fatal, and I’m so thankful I’m alive. I can’t describe how hard it is coping with these nightmares all the time. I wake up in a sweat just thanking God, and being so thankful it’s just another nightmare. I pray that in time the nightmares will fade away. No drug is worth the toll or high.” —Liz

“I hear a lot of people talking about Ecstasy, calling it a fun, harmless drug. All I can think is: If they only knew.

“In five months, I went from living somewhat responsibly, while pursuing my dream, to be a person who didn’t care about a thing. And the higher I got, the deeper I sank into a dark, lonely place. When I did sleep, I had nightmares and the shakes. I had pasty skin, a throbbing head, and the beginnings of feeling paranoid, but ignored it all thinking it was normal. Until the night I thought I was dying.

“Ecstasy took my strength, my motivation, my dreams, my friends, my apartment, my money, and most of all, my sanity. I worry about my future and my health every day. I have many mountains ahead of me, but I plan to keep climbing because I’m one of the lucky ones.” —Lynn

“Ecstasy made me crazy. One day I bit glass, just like I would have bitten an apple. I had to have my mouth full of pieces of glass to realize what was happening to me. Another time, I tore rags with my teeth for an hour.” —Ann