Skip to content

The History of MDMA as an Underground Drug in the United States, 1960–1979

Torsten Passie, Udo Benzenhöfer

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs March 3, 2016 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2015.1128580 (opens in new tab)

Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Historical analysis Peer reviewed
Topics MDMA
Keywords Recreational drug Recreational use Mephedrone Hallucinogen Designer drug
Citations 56
Key points Reconstructs the early history of MDMA as a recreational drug in the U.S. from 1960 to 1979, showing it was first synthesized by underground chemists as a legal alternative to MDA and first detected on the street in Chicago in 1970.

Abstract

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine, a.k.a. "ecstasy") was first synthesized in 1912 and resynthesized more than once for pharmaceutical reasons before it became a popular recreational drug. Partially based on previously overlooked U.S. government documentation, this article reconstructs the early history of MDMA as a recreational drug in the U.S. from 1960 to 1979. According to the literature, MDMA was introduced as a street drug at the end of the 1960s. The first forensic detection of MDMA "on the street" was reported in 1970 in Chicago. It appears that MDMA was first synthesized by underground chemists in search of "legal alternatives" for the closely related and highly sought-after drug MDA, which was scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in 1970. Until 1974, nearly all MDMA street samples seized came from the U.S. Midwest, the first "hot region" of MDMA use. In Canada, MDMA was first detected in 1974 and scheduled in 1976. From 1975 to 1979, MDMA was found in street samples in more than 10 U.S. states, the West Coast becoming the major "hot region" of MDMA use. Recreational use of MDMA spread across the U.S. in the early 1980s, and in 1985 it was scheduled under the CSA.

Comparable studies

Other theoretical and historical papers on MDMA, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Differences Between the Mechanism of Action of MDMA, MBDB, and the Classic Hallucinogens. Identification of a New Therapeutic Class: Entactogens 1986 Theoretical or philosophical paper
The Background and Chemistry of MDMA 1986 Historical analysis
The origin of MDMA (ecstasy) revisited: the true story reconstructed from the original documents* Original documents in Merck's historical archive in Darmstadt, Germany, years 1900–1960 2006 Historical analysis
Distinct neural mechanisms for the prosocial and rewarding properties of MDMA 2019 Theoretical or philosophical paper
How could MDMA (ecstasy) help anxiety disorders? A neurobiological rationale 2009 Theoretical or philosophical paper

Citations in the library

Cited by 41

and 36 more in the library

Cites 9

and 4 more in the library

Related reading

Explore topics

MDMA