Joint Assessment of MDMA Trafficking Trends
Virtually all MDMA sold in the United States reaches the consumer through a trafficking cycle that includes production, wholesale, midlevel wholesale, and retail distribution. The wholesale level smuggles the MDMA into the United States, where it is passed to the midlevel wholesale level, which in turn passes the MDMA to retail distribution. Each level earns a considerable profit from its involvement in distribution, although currently the retail level enjoys the greatest profit margin per tablet. This document reviews the background, production, as well as the levels of distribution of MDMA.
The following document is in pdf format. Source: National Drug Intelligence Center.
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs/642/642p.pdf

Ecstasy and Club Drugs: Established and Possible Dangers by David M. McDowell, MD
The younger a person begins using drugs, and the more often, the more likely he or she will progress to having a serious drug problem. It is understandable why so many adolescents may find raves, and the club drugs used there, so appealing. Ecstasy, in particular, is alluring and seductive. But there is a darker side to this story. It is likely that permanent damage to the serotonin system is occurring in individuals who use Ecstasy and other club drugs. The extent and consequences of this damage may not become apparent for decades.
http://www.house.gov/judiciary/mcdo0615.htm

Pills: Children as Young as 12 and 13 Found Using Ecstasy by Tara Kane and Leslie Koren
Ecstasy: It's a real peer-pressure drug. When kids see friends doing it and how happy they are, they want to try it. Kids as young as 12 and 13 are taking it, as are their older brothers and sisters-and not only at raves and clubs. It is an anywhere/anytime party drug now. Seemingly so innocuous, it makes it more difficult to combat. Even the name of the drug is a powerful attraction.
http://199.173.2.7/news/kids200107221.htm

Teens Ignoring Dangers of Ecstasy by Robert Lovinger and Cynthia Gomez
An increase in Ecstasy use does not surprise Bristol County District Attorney Paul F. Walsh Jr., because there's no fear of it. Because effects such as potential kidney failure and brain damage aren't immediate-they can take five years to appear-it's hard to grab people's attention. Accessibility is also main reason for its rising popularity. You can walk into just about any club-especially the techno ones-do a little asking around, and you will land some pills.
http://www.s-t.com/daily/02-02/02-12-02/a01wn003.htm

Ecstasy Without Fear by Rico Gagliano
DanceSafe, a nonprofit group designed to provide information on a range of illicit drugs used at raves. Recently, the group has been taking pill testing to the people, setting up booths at a number of raves and club events to assist in determining if their pills are tainted, thus making them even more dangerous. This article explores the controversy of testing the drugs in lieu of distributing literature on the dangers of the drugs.
http://www.laweekly.com/ink/00/29/cyber-gagliano.shtml

No Longer Raving About Ecstasy by Mark A. Schaan
This article reviews the history of Ecstasy, as well as the effects and physical consequences. A 19-year-old teenager suffered uncontrollable vomiting and soon after became jaundiced a week after using Ecstasy. After numerous tests, it was determined he needed a liver transplant. "It's like playing Russian roulette with your body."
http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca/issues/030300/3Science/Science01.shtml

A Drug Lesson Worth Remembering by Stephen J. Pasierb & Mary F. Harrison
Ecstasy is a lie. While users talk about the pleasures of the "hug drug," a growing body of research has found Ecstasy to be a neurotoxin. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says Ecstasy poisons the brain. Danielle Heird was one of its victims. On July 20, 2000, police had to notify the parents that their 21-year-old daughter had died of an Ecstasy overdose. This article compares the early attitudes of cocaine use with the increasingly popular club drug Ecstasy.
http://www.cnoa.org/whats-new-article-10.htm

Ecstasy Dangers: Addiction Costs by Joelle Babula
Eight months of Ecstasy use have left a 16-year-old boy with blurry vision, brain damage, and memory loss. He began taking pills three times a week, up to five pills at a time. His grades slipped, his personality changed, and in order to pay $20 per pill, he had to steal. This article recalls the personal story of Anthony Tarantino, who has been left with a permanent, severe learning disability due to his Ecstasy drug use.
Source: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2000/Sep-10-Sun-2000/news/14339801.html

Ecstasy Overdose Killed N.J. Student by Ashanti M. Alvarez and Tara Kane
Eighteen-year-old Michael Del Giudice died of an Ecstasy overdose after partying at a popular New York City nightclub. Security guards at the club saw Del Giudice shaking nervously and wearing only one shoe. He was walking strangely and collapsed as they attempted to question him. Del Guidice was taken to St. Clare's Hospital and Health Center, where he was pronounced dead.
http://199.173.2.7/news/ecstasyaa200112124.htm

My Heart Asks, Where Did I Go Wrong? by Kate Patton
A grieving mother tries to make sense of her daughter's death. In this personal account of her daughter's Ecstasy overdose, Kate Patton wonders where she went wrong. Before her daughter's death, she had never heard of Ecstasy. Parents have to become as knowledgeable as they possibly can about all of these drugs so they can talk intelligently with their kids and possibly save their lives.
http://www.drugfreeamerica.org/Templates/Article_Special_1.asp?ws=PDFA&
vol=1&grp=Parents%2FCaregivers&cat=In+Your+Own+Words&top=Articles&tit
=My+Heart+Asks%2C+%3Ci%3EWhere+Did+I+Go+Wrong%3F%3C%2Fi%3E

Raver Gives Up Ecstasy After Watching Friend Die by Udy Bell
Gary Wheeler was always under the assumption that the people who died of Ecstasy were the ones who mixed it in with crystal meth, cocaine or even Viagra. However, he soon found himself pounding on the chest of his friend Beth Robertson, who lay unconscious and blue after taking what her friends believe was Ecstasy the night before. Wheeler believes his friend bought Ecstasy from a stranger at a rave, and he's convinced the drug was laced with something more deadly.
http://www.canoe.ca/Health0007/24_rave.html

MDMA (Ecstasy)
Ecstasy is a synthetic drug with both psychedelic and stimulant effects. Currently it is a popular "club drug" and is commonly used at all-night dance parties known as "raves." However, recent research indicates that the use of MDMA is moving to settings other than nightclubs, such as private homes, high schools, college dorms, and shopping malls. This fact sheet summarizes current information on the effects, prevalence estimates, trafficking, and production of MDMA as well as law enforcement efforts to control the drug.
The following document is in pdf format. Source: Drug Policy Information Clearing House.
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/ncj188745.pdf

PCP Tablets Sold as MDMA
The purpose of this Information Bulletin is to inform law enforcement and treatment communities about the nontraditional distribution of the hallucinogen PCP. In one recent case, PCP was distributed as the club drug MDMA in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In another case, tablets containing PCP, ketamine, ephedrine, and caffeine were being sold as MDMA in Upstate New York.
The following document is in pdf format. Source: Information Bulletin, U.S. Department of Justice.
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs/661/661p.pdf