No Fun

Sometimes it seems as if the whole of Sydney’s nightclub scene runs on ecstasy. On a regular basis I carry home wasted clubbers with grinding teeth, hot flushes and constantly sipping on water bottles. Despite spending the entire evening in a club they betray no hint of alcohol odour, little wonder given the ridiculously priced, under-strength drinks served in those joints.

One couple on the weekend calculated the club they were at was grossing $400 per bottle of vodka. Another passenger, a young fella aged 21 complained bitterly of spending $150 and hardly feeling drunk. I reassured him that leaving Kings Cross early at 1am was a win, compared to surfacing at dawn and feeling like shit.

With those drink prices a party drug like ecstasy costing $30 and lasting four to six hours is a much cheaper alternative and only requires water as a supplement. Budget conscious clubbers can buy a pill or two plus pay for taxis making for an affordable night out.

Partygoers up for a ‘huge night’ will start early at a suburban hotel where they load up on reasonably priced drinks. Thence at midnight hit the City clubs and dance till dawn on cheap ‘Benny Hills’. The downside of this routine is dealing with the recovery period, which in the case of heavy ecstasy use often involves waves of depression.

Not to mention the ultimate danger of a creeping ritual beckoning for more, easily triggered by environment, manic highs and/or the thumping beat of dance music. What makes regular ecstasy use so dangerous is that a dependency can be deceptive, as it's largely psychological rather than physical. I’ve been there and survived, thank Christ.

An old friend at the age of sixteen once ran away from home and got into heroin for a couple of years. After kicking the habit and remaining clean, he fondly claimed that after twenty years he could still recall the delicious sensation and taste of heroin.

The same can be said of pure ecstasy, which first arrived here in the late eighties. I was reminded of this on my vacation when a friend aged forty remarked, "I wouldn’t touch the ecckies around today - only if it was real MDMA." Like heroin and cocaine, the ‘rush’ from ecstasy is that nice; unquestionably 'more-ish'.

However whilst these drugs truly are better than sex, their ability for stealthy dependence can easily lead to a living death. Not_much_fun.

Comments

[Dataceptionist]

Hmmm, you're kind of advocating ecstasy use here adrian. A dangerous thing in the wake of Joeys confession, where it already has been given a sly thumbs up by a high profile sports person.

[George]

Right on Adrian. I'm 26 and first tried ecstasy at the age of 23 or 24. The rush of that first time was beyond anything I had ever felt before. It's a feeling that - before you experience it - you think was never even possible, it's that good.

But of course at the same time it's not real. In that after those few hours of extreme bliss, you come crashing down to reality. Thankfully since my first time I've only ever done it very occasionally, on those "huge" nights. I like to think I've been "smart" about it, as in I've experienced the rush but largely stayed away from even being close to addiction.

Ultimately, drugs make you forget who you are. Not knowing the time at which this happens can be fatally dangerous.

[James]

Well, lots of things make you forget who you are...and even healthy things can have negative consequences. How many 50-year-old guys are having their knees replaced because they spent years chasing "runners' highs"?

I don't know, I'm no druggie (though I like a drink on occasion) but I suspect we're all being a bit moralistic on the whole Joey thing. Perhaps it is because he didn't wind up in a gutter but in fact had a helluva career and only got caught out living it up in a London nightclub that so many people are annoyed?

[Johnno]

"What makes regular ecstasy use so dangerous is that a dependency can be deceptive..."
What makes ecstasy use dangerous, period, is production by backyard chemists. Having served on a jury where the defendant was charged with manufacture of MDMA, there were two alarming aspects:
One was the storage of an intermediate compound in a Roundup weedkiller bottle.
The other was that the defendant really had no idea what he was doing to combine ingredients in the correct ratios.

[TheDailyMagnet]

Moaning and gnashing of teeth, did you say Adrian?

The added dangers of ecstacy use in this era, doesn't lessen the dangers(that were seldom discussed) of MDMA in the '80s. Even prescription drugs are dangerous, and they are predictable quantities and qualities and regulated by a medical practitioner. The impact of the wave of super 'pure' ecstacy in the 80's & 90's will be seen over the next two decades as the once users age with weakened kidneys and livers & develop Alheimers & Parkinsons earlier than usual.

The Johns thing had to be turned into a witch-hunt - otherwise society and the league couldn't continue to deny the confessions of a tolerated culture of drug abuse in rugby(and football).

[adrian]

Data receptionist, over the weekend I thought a lot about Andrew Johns's revelations. To those of us who knew ‘the worst kept secret’ in League, a bigger surprise was why it took so long to emerge. Another story yet to be revealed.

I understand how one could read advocacy for drugs in my post yet this was not my intention, believe me. Rather, as every user knows these drugs have a powerful and lasting attraction. Thus it's relevant and important to acknowledge this, in order to articulate the danger of complacency.

[slatts]

Tried all that was available in the 70s and can declare with regrettable authority: Nothing tops the first experience. Except falling in love.

[Dirk Thruster]

I thoght that the worst kept secret in league involved a boy from Roma?