Editing MDMA (section)

==Society and culture==
{{Global estimates of illicit drug users}}

===Legal status===
MDMA is legally controlled in most of the world under the UN [[Convention on Psychotropic Substances]] and other international agreements, although exceptions exist for research and limited medical use. In general, the unlicensed use, sale or manufacture of MDMA are all criminal offences.

====Australia====
In Australia, MDMA was rescheduled on 1 July 2023 as a schedule 8 substance (available on prescription) when used in the treatment of PTSD, while remaining a schedule 9 substance (prohibited) for all other uses. For the treatment of PTSD, MDMA can only be prescribed by psychiatrists with specific training and authorisation.<ref>{{cite news |title=MDMA and psilocybin: What GPs need to know |url=https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/gp-opinion/mdma-and-psilocybin-what-gps-need-to-know#:~:text=It%20means%20psilocybin%20and%20MDMA,restricts%20supply%20to%20clinical%20trials. |newspaper=Newsgp |access-date=2023-06-13 |archive-date=13 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613073443/https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/gp-opinion/mdma-and-psilocybin-what-gps-need-to-know#:~:text=It%20means%20psilocybin%20and%20MDMA,restricts%20supply%20to%20clinical%20trials. |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 1986, MDMA was declared an illegal substance because of its allegedly harmful effects and potential for misuse.<ref>{{Cite web | vauthors = Bedi G |date=2018-03-29 |title=Is psychiatry ready for medical MDMA? |url=http://theconversation.com/is-psychiatry-ready-for-medical-mdma-94105 |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=4 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104131905/https://theconversation.com/is-psychiatry-ready-for-medical-mdma-94105 |url-status=live }}</ref> Any non-authorised sale, use or manufacture is strictly prohibited by law. Permits for research uses on humans must be approved by a recognized [[National Health and Medical Research Council|ethics committee]] on human research.

In [[Western Australia]] under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 4.0g of MDMA is the amount required determining a court of trial, 2.0g is considered a presumption with intent to sell or supply and 28.0g is considered trafficking under Australian law.<ref>{{cite web|title=Misuse of Drugs Act 1981|url=https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_4607_homepage.html|publisher=The Government of Western Australia|agency=Department of the Premier and Cabinet|date=23 October 1981|access-date=22 July 2016|archive-date=18 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818132249/https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_4607_homepage.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Australian Capital Territory passed legislation to decriminalise the possession of small amounts of MDMA, which took effect in October 2023.<ref>{{cite news |title=ACT government decriminalises small amounts of illicit drugs including speed, heroin and cocaine |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-20/act-decriminalises-small-amounts-of-illicit-drugs-heroin-cocaine/101552008 |website=ABC News |date=20 October 2022 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=2023-06-13 |archive-date=13 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613074529/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-20/act-decriminalises-small-amounts-of-illicit-drugs-heroin-cocaine/101552008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Roy 2023">{{cite web | vauthors = Roy T |title=The ACT has today decriminalised small amounts of some illicit drugs. But what does that mean? |website=ABC News |date=27 October 2023 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-28/canberra-drug-decriminalisation-laws-begin-today/103032128 |access-date=7 June 2024}}</ref>

====Canada====
In Canada, MDMA is listed as a [[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act#Schedule I|Schedule 1]]<ref name="CDSA Schedule I: Amphetamines">{{cite web|title=Schedule I|url=http://isomerdesign.com/Cdsa/schedule.php?schedule=1&section=18.5&structure=C|work=Controlled Drugs and Substances Act|publisher=Isomer Design|access-date=9 December 2013|archive-date=10 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110200556/http://isomerdesign.com/Cdsa/schedule.php?schedule=1&section=18.5&structure=C|url-status=dead}}</ref> as it is an analogue of amphetamine.<ref name="Definitions and Interpretations">{{cite web|title=Definitions and interpretations|url=http://isomerdesign.com/Cdsa/definitions.php?structure=C|work=Controlled Drugs and Substances Act|publisher=Isomer Design|access-date=9 December 2013|archive-date=10 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110213450/http://isomerdesign.com/Cdsa/definitions.php?structure=C|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act]] was updated as a result of the [[Safe Streets and Communities Act]] changing amphetamines from [[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act#Schedule III|Schedule III]] to Schedule I in March 2012. In 2022, the federal government granted [[British Columbia]] a 3-year exemption, legalizing the possession of up to {{Convert|2.5|g|oz}} of MDMA in the province from February 2023 until February 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Decriminalizing people who use drugs in B.C. |url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/overdose/decriminalization |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=Government of BC |publisher=Government Communications and Public Engagement |archive-date=9 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309091348/https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/overdose/decriminalization |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 7, 2023 |title=B.C. recorded 211 toxic drug deaths — almost 7 a day — in January, coroner reports |work=[[CBC.ca]] |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-toxic-drugs-deaths-january-2023-1.6770643 |access-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-date=8 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308231034/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-toxic-drugs-deaths-january-2023-1.6770643 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Netherlands====
In 2024, a Dutch state commission issued a report advocating for MDMA to be made available to patients with PTSD.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zaken |first=Ministerie van Algemene |date=2024-05-31 |title=MDMA /// Beyond Ecstasy - Report - Government.nl |url=https://www.government.nl/documents/reports/2024/05/31/mdma-beyond-ecstasy |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=www.government.nl |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In June 2011, the Expert Committee on the List (Expertcommissie Lijstensystematiek Opiumwet) issued a report which discussed the evidence for harm and the legal status of MDMA, arguing in favor of maintaining it on List I.<ref name="papers.ssrn.com" /><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/rapporten/2011/06/27/rapport-drugs-in-lijsten.html | title = Rapport Drugs in Lijsten | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120306112130/http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/rapporten/2011/06/27/rapport-drugs-in-lijsten.html | archive-date = 6 March 2012 | work = Rijksoverheid.nl | date = 27 June 2011 | access-date = 29 August 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Committee: the current system of the Opium Act does not have to be changed|url=http://www.government.nl/documents-and-publications/press-releases/2011/06/24/committee-the-current-system-of-the-opium-act-does-not-have-to-be-changed.html|website=government.nl|date=24 June 2011|access-date=29 August 2012|archive-date=29 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429071421/http://www.government.nl/documents-and-publications/press-releases/2011/06/24/committee-the-current-system-of-the-opium-act-does-not-have-to-be-changed.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====United Kingdom====
In the United Kingdom, MDMA was made illegal in 1977 by a modification order to the existing [[Misuse of Drugs Act 1971]]. Although MDMA was not named explicitly in this legislation, the order extended the definition of Class A drugs to include various ring-substituted phenethylamines.<ref name="Drugs 2.0">{{cite book| vauthors = Power M |title=Drugs 2.0 : the web revolution that's changing how the world gets high|date=2013|publisher=Portobello|location=London|isbn=978-1-84627-459-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gj6zMQEACAAJ&q=Drugs+2.0|format=epub file}}</ref><ref name="UK legality">{{cite web | url = http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Primary&PageNumber=57&NavFrom=2&parentActiveTextDocId=1367412&ActiveTextDocId=1367472&filesize=411 | title = Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 | work = Statutelaw.gov.uk | date = 5 January 1998 | access-date = 11 June 2011 | archive-date = 28 August 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210828153546/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/38/schedule/2/part/I/2003-04-01?timeline=true | url-status = live }}</ref> The drug is therefore illegal to sell, buy, or possess without a licence in the UK. Penalties include a maximum of seven years and/or unlimited fine for possession; life and/or unlimited fine for production or trafficking.

Some researchers such as [[David Nutt]] have criticized the scheduling of MDMA, which he determined to be a relatively harmless drug.<ref>{{Cite news|vauthors = Hope C|date = 7 February 2009|title = Ecstasy 'no more dangerous than horse riding'|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/4537874/Ecstasy-no-more-dangerous-than-horse-riding.html|website = Telegraph.co.uk|access-date = 4 December 2015|archive-date = 10 December 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151210201615/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/4537874/Ecstasy-no-more-dangerous-than-horse-riding.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Nutt DJ | title = Equasy-- an overlooked addiction with implications for the current debate on drug harms | journal = Journal of Psychopharmacology | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 3–5 | date = January 2009 | pmid = 19158127 | doi = 10.1177/0269881108099672 | s2cid = 32034780 }}</ref> An editorial he wrote in the ''[[Journal of Psychopharmacology]]'', where he compared the risk of harm for [[Horse Riding|horse riding]] (1 adverse event in 350) to that of ecstasy (1 in 10,000) resulted in his dismissal, leading to the resignation of several of his colleagues from the [[Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs|ACMD]].<ref name="johnson">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/02/drug-policy-alan-johnson-nutt|title=Why Professor David Nutt was shown the door|vauthors=Johnson A|date=2 November 2009|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=3 November 2009|location=London|archive-date=18 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118223546/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/02/drug-policy-alan-johnson-nutt|url-status=live}}</ref>

====United States====
In the United States, MDMA is listed in [[Controlled Substances Act#Schedule I controlled substances|Schedule I]] of the [[Controlled Substances Act]].<ref>''Schedules of Controlled Substances; Scheduling of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act; Remand'', 53 Fed. Reg. 5,156 (DEA 22 February 1988).</ref> In a 2011 federal court hearing, the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] successfully argued that the sentencing guideline for MDMA/ecstasy is based on outdated science, leading to excessive prison sentences.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/court-rejects-harsh-federal-drug-sentencing-guideline-scientifically-unjustified | title = Court Rejects Harsh Federal Drug Sentencing Guideline as Scientifically Unjustified | work = American Civil Liberties Union | date = 15 July 2011 | access-date = 29 August 2012 | archive-date = 14 March 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140314210920/https://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/court-rejects-harsh-federal-drug-sentencing-guideline-scientifically-unjustified | url-status = live }}</ref> Other courts have upheld the sentencing guidelines. The [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee]] explained its ruling by noting that "an individual federal district court judge simply cannot marshal resources akin to those available to the Commission for tackling the manifold issues involved with determining a proper drug equivalency."<ref name="papers.ssrn.com">{{Cite journal|ssrn=2481227 | vauthors = Hennig AC |title=An Examination of Federal Sentencing Guidelines' Treatment of MDMA ('Ecstasy') |journal=Belmont Law Review |volume=1 |page=267 |year=2014}}</ref>

===Demographics===
[[File:UNODC 2016 World Drug Report use of ecstasy in 2014 (page 1 crop).jpg|class=skin-invert-image|upright=1.5|thumb|UNODC map showing the use of ecstasy by country in 2014 for the global population aged 15–64]]

In 2014, 3.5% of 18 to 25 year-olds had used MDMA in the United States.<ref name=Betzler2017/> In the European Union as of 2018, 4.1% of adults (15–64 years old) have used MDMA at least once in their life, and 0.8% had used it in the last year.<ref name="European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)">{{Cite web|url=http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/data/stats2018/gps_en|title=Statistical Bulletin 2018 —{{nbsp}}prevalence of drug use|publisher=European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)|access-date=2019-02-05|archive-date=31 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231102708/http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/data/stats2018/gps_en|url-status=live}}</ref> Among young adults, 1.8% had used MDMA in the last year.<ref name="European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)" />

In Europe, an estimated 37% of regular club-goers aged 14 to 35 used MDMA in the past year according to the 2015 European Drug report.<ref name="Betzler2017" /> The highest one-year prevalence of MDMA use in Germany in 2012 was 1.7% among people aged 25 to 29 compared with a population average of 0.4%.<ref name="Betzler2017" /> Among adolescent users in the United States between 1999 and 2008, girls were more likely to use MDMA than boys.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wu P, Liu X, Pham TH, Jin J, Fan B, Jin Z | title = Ecstasy use among US adolescents from 1999 to 2008 | journal = Drug and Alcohol Dependence | volume = 112 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 33–8 | date = November 2010 | pmid = 20570447 | pmc = 2967577 | doi = 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.05.006 }}</ref>

===Economics===
====Europe====
In 2008 the [[European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction]] noted that although there were some reports of tablets being sold for as little as €1, most countries in Europe then reported typical retail prices in the range of €3 to €9 per tablet, typically containing 25–65{{nbsp}}mg of MDMA.<ref>{{cite book |author=European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction |title=Annual report: the state of the drugs problem in Europe |year=2008 |publisher=Office for Official Publications of the European Communities |location=Luxembourg |isbn=978-92-9168-324-6 |page=49 |url=http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_64227_EN_EMCDDA_AR08_en.pdf |access-date=1 December 2008 |archive-date=25 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425191815/http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_64227_EN_EMCDDA_AR08_en.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> By 2014 the EMCDDA reported that the range was more usually between €5 and €10 per tablet, typically containing 57–102{{nbsp}}mg of MDMA, although MDMA in powder form was becoming more common.<ref>{{cite book | chapter = Ecstasy: high purity powder available | title = European Drug Report | date = 2014 | page = 26 | publisher = European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) | url = http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_228272_EN_TDAT14001ENN.pdf | isbn = 978-92-9168-694-0 | doi = 10.2810/32306 | author1 = European Monitoring Centre for Drugs Drug Addiction | access-date = 4 June 2014 | archive-date = 7 September 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140907142119/http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_228272_EN_TDAT14001ENN.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>

====North America====
The [[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]] stated in its 2014 World Drug Report that US ecstasy retail prices range from US$1 to $70 per pill, or from $15,000 to $32,000 per kilogram.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ecstasy-type substances Retail and wholesale prices* and purity levels, by drug, region and country or territory|url=http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr2014/Statistics/Prices_ATS.xls|publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime|access-date=2 January 2015|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208142205/http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr2014/Statistics/Prices_ATS.xls}}</ref> A new research area named Drug Intelligence aims to automatically monitor distribution networks based on image processing and machine learning techniques, in which an Ecstasy pill picture is analyzed to detect correlations among different production batches.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Camargo J, Esseiva P, González F, Wist J, Patiny L | title = Monitoring of illicit pill distribution networks using an image collection exploration framework | journal = Forensic Science International | volume = 223 | issue = 1–3 | pages = 298–305 | date = November 2012 | pmid = 23107059 | doi = 10.1016/j.forsciint.2012.10.004 | url = http://www.fsijournal.org/article/S0379-0738(12)00458-6/abstract | access-date = 9 December 2013 | archive-date = 28 August 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210828153543/http://www.allmallorcahotels.com/fsijournalorg/ | url-status = live | url-access = subscription }}</ref> These novel techniques allow police scientists to facilitate the monitoring of illicit distribution networks.

{{As of|October 2015}}, most of the MDMA in the United States is produced in British Columbia, Canada and imported by Canada-based Asian [[transnational organized crime|transnational criminal organizations]].<ref name="DEA 2015 assessment">{{cite book | title=2015 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary | chapter-url=http://www.dea.gov/docs/2015%20NDTA%20Report.pdf | publisher=United States Department of Justice: Drug Enforcement Administration | access-date=10 April 2016 | chapter=MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) | pages=85–88 | date=October 2015 | archive-date=10 April 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410100038/http://www.dea.gov/docs/2015%20NDTA%20Report.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref> The market for MDMA in the United States is relatively small compared to [[methamphetamine]], [[cocaine]], and [[heroin]].<ref name="DEA 2015 assessment" /> In the United States, about 0.9 million people used ecstasy in 2010.<ref name=Drugs2014/>

====Australia====
MDMA is particularly expensive in Australia, costing [[Australian dollar|A$]]15–A$30 per tablet. In terms of purity data for Australian MDMA, the average is around 34%, ranging from less than 1% to about 85%. The majority of tablets contain 70–85{{nbsp}}mg of MDMA. Most MDMA enters Australia from the Netherlands, the UK, Asia, and the US.<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Dillon P | url = http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles/dillon.htm | title = 10 years of ecstasy and other party drug use in Australia: What have we done and what is there left to do? | work = Drugtext.org | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120209142314/http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles/dillon.htm | archive-date = 9 February 2012 }}</ref>

====Corporate logos on pills====
A number of ecstasy manufacturers brand their pills with a logo, often being the [[corporate logo|logo of an unrelated corporation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/mdma/mdma_images.shtml|title=Erowid MDMA Vault : Images|access-date=3 March 2016|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306030258/https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/mdma/mdma_images.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Some pills depict logos of products or media popular with children, such as [[Shaun the Sheep]].<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Cork T | date = 31 July 2015 |url=http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/sick-dealers-peddle-Shaun-Sheep-Ecstasy-tablets/story-27521142-detail/story.html |title=Now sick dealers peddle Shaun the Sheep Ecstasy tablets |work=Western Daily Press|access-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150812022920/http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/sick-dealers-peddle-Shaun-Sheep-Ecstasy-tablets/story-27521142-detail/story.html |archive-date=12 August 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>