* urbanjunkie walks into the suppository *

* he is followed by mr. joe public *

URBANJUNKIE: Do you actually want to listen to what I have to say?

JOE PUBLIC: Yes, I do. I want to hear your reasoning behind drug taking. You claim to be a supporter of the drug culture that surrounds the clubbing scene. I personally think it’s sad and pathetic that people like you seem to require drugs in order to enjoy yourselves. So go ahead, I'm listening. Tell me why taking an E is so damn important...

URBANJUNKIE: You find it sad and pathetic? Why?

JOE PUBLIC: Why not just enjoy the night the way it is naturally? Soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the music as yourself, without alien chemicals running through your body.

URBANJUNKIE: So you would prefer a club full of people tanked up on alcohol, when we all know that drinking will make you more aggressive. You'd prefer a club full of nutters, fighting in the terraces as opposed to people on E's smiling and being overwhelmingly happy?

JOE PUBLIC: Next you’re going to say without popping a pill there’s no chance of becoming one with the music. Well? If you don’t take drugs you won’t enjoy yourself as much. That’s what you lot preach isn’t it? Well it’s bollocks. It’s part of drug culture mythology.

URBANJUNKIE: Can I ask you a question?

JOE PUBLIC: Go on.

URBANJUNKIE: Have you ever taken an E?

JOE PUBLIC: No.

URBANJUNKIE: Then you do not have a single motherfucking right to comment on the subject.

JOE PUBLIC: Oh please. Go on then, druggie...educate me.

URBANJUNKIE: That would be impossible, but I'll give it a go. You see, your attitude is typical bullshit banter that gets thrown around by morons like you all the time. People like you who have never tried drugs are in no position to comment. If you hate people pushing drugs onto you, that’s fair enough. But it works both ways. Understand that the people who do the drugs can’t stand someone like you turning to them with your "I'm obviously smarter than you attitude." You see no point in doing them; that’s your opinion.

I respect that a lot of people have no interest in ecstasy or speed but they don’t comment on things they don’t know about. Because they have no experience of the other side of the coin. Learn from them. The complaint that clubbers have a bad reputation for doing these drugs has been earned. A high percentage of clubbers regularly use them with more and more trying all the time. Most people in clubs after 2 a.m. are on some kind of stimulant depending, of course, on the club and area.

JOE PUBLIC: Great. Clubs full of people with no control over their actions. Thank you very much, but I prefer to be in full control of my actions.

URBANJUNKIE: What, when you’re tanked up on ten pints? The ecstasy boom completely rejuvenated the clubbing scene. It’s euphoric. People become one on the dance floor or in a field. Everyone loves everyone. There’s a complete overwhelming sense of unity with the people around you and with the music. As to your comment about being in control, anyone who does ecstasy or speed regularly knows that you are always in control, you know exactly what you are doing, and you regain the ability to bring yourself down enough to deal with any serious situation. Drugs will always be around, so get used to it.

JOE PUBLIC: I don’t know about that. Always in control?

URBANJUNKIE: Okay, so maybe dosage matters.

JOE PUBLIC: If taking drugs were safe, it would be legal. Its not legal, therefore it’s not safe. I won’t be seduced into taking anything just because you romanticise it. You make the whole experience sound like coming face to face with God.

URBANJUNKIE: No one is forcing you to pop pills. But don’t make assumptions against something that you would need to experience first before being able to criticise. And don’t force your opinions on others. And yes, it can be like coming face to face with God.

JOE PUBLIC: So being stoned out of your head makes you appreciate the music more? That it takes a pill to actually appreciate the sounds around you?

URBANJUNKIE: Ecstasy has its effect flooding the brain with serotonin and dopamine, so music can sound better on it.

JOE PUBLIC: I'll take your word for it. But I’ve heard that taking MDMA too often will start to put holes in your head.

URBANJUNKIE: MDMA works very well the first few times you try it. But I agree that too much could harm you.

JOE PUBLIC: So you admit, it’s dangerous.

URBANJUNKIE: Like everything in life, take in moderation. And if you’re not sure, don’t take at all. Someone once compared MDMA to a glimpse of enlightenment. And that’s what the dance scene is. A place where people go to take drugs. But that doesn’t mean everyone, and it still doesn’t mean people who aren’t on it will have a lesser time enjoying themselves. But even having said that, it’s still not comparable to being on it. It’s in the eye of the beholder. All people are different.

It’s as simple as this:

People should be free to explore the realms of their own consciousness as long as it doesn’t impinge on the freedom of others.

Ecstasy isn’t just taken for music; it’s also a euphoric feel-good drug. People only want to be happy and that will only add to the vibe in most cases. But there are exceptions. Where the person in their normal state is a wanker but turns good on a superman pill, it does intensify emotion so sometimes a wanker remains a wanker.

JOE PUBLIC: I still don’t see the point. It would appear people, like you, need help with having a good time.

URBANJUNKIE: It’s not about having a good time. It’s about enhancement. I will never be able to help you fully understand the feelings that you experience while under the influence of an E, but I would never tell you to go try one out. That would be as bad as you telling a user to give it up. It’s a personal thing.

Mr X was clubbing for 8 months before he decided he would try it out. There was no pressure from anyone at the time and it was his own decision. He’s glad he did it. Like me.

JOE PUBLIC: The way you talk you would think taking drugs is a must. That ecstasy is perfection.

URBANJUNKIE: Ecstasy is aptly named. Like I said, I can have a good time without it, but on it, it just elevates me to another plane.

JOE PUBLIC: That good, hey?

URBANJUNKIE: The sarcasm in your voice is easily detected. You should learn to be more deadpan.

JOE PUBLIC: So you do believe it’s perfection then?

URBANJUNKIE: Was once. The drug has mutated and the quality has fallen over the last few years. If you speak to a seasoned veteran, he or she will tell you that. For the kids today it’s not really the same, but they don’t realise it. It’s not exactly the summer of love anymore.

JOE PUBLIC: I still have no intention of indulging with ecstasy. I agree that compared to the effects of alcohol, it has advantages over the atmosphere that a club has. I just feel that people shouldn’t have to create an illusion for themselves when it comes to music and clubbing. But I know what you're gonna say. I need to take it to understand why others do. It’s just that I never will. I get high naturally. I get high on the music and the sounds and just feeling good about myself. I’ll be cheating if I use a stimulant.

URBANJUNKIE: It’s your prerogative. But if you fail to see why I take it, I fail to see the logic in your argument for not taking it. You just admitted that it has an advantage over alcohol. And compare alcohol-related deaths to ecstasy-related deaths.

JOE PUBLIC: Okay, that’s a different argument altogether. I just think that why take drugs when the atmosphere in a club can already appear to be euphoric to you in the first place?

URBANJUNKIE: It's like what salt does to your food...the food might taste fine without it, but add a little salt and it tastes better

JOE PUBLIC: Now that depends whether you like salt or not...

* door opens, both men walk out of suppository, agreeing to disagree *

--------------------

Ecstasy: Some history and background information.

It was developed in 1912 by the Germans as a slimming pill. When you take ecstasy/MDMA it travels in your blood stream to your brain; the action in your brain is to release serotonin and dopamine. These are called neurotransmitters because they control the messages transmitted between neurons (brain cells).

In normal life these neurotransmitters alter mood to suit our particular situation, e.g., the neurotransmitter adrenaline is released to create the mood of excitement in situations where we need to be alert. Similarly, serotonin is released naturally to create the mood for situations such as being in love, and dopamine is released to suppress pain in situations where we are hurt but have to carry on, like in sport.

The effect of MDMA is to force our brain to change mood by allowing messages to flow that would normally be blocked:

Its like if you imagine a dripping tap to be how the serotonin is deployed in normal day to day life...when you take MDMA it’s like turning the tap on full and thus intensifying all your senses.

The combination of the drug with music and dancing can produce a trancelike state, similar to a tribal ceremony; it allows the music and movements to blend and produces a feeling of group celebration (nobody knows how the drug achieves this, as no other similar drug can).

So you can imagine a club full of people that have no fear, decreased aggression, no paranoia and just a feeling of love and the need to move with the music. The emotions experienced are truly amazing, you feel like you’re “one with the music” and the crowd. Nothing else matters apart from the music and the moment. MDMA is said to have stopped all the trouble in the terraces in the late 80s and 90s. Even soccer fans were meeting in dance clubs and, because of the effects of the drugs, instead of fighting started talking and later, hugging each other. The experience is different when taken quietly with friends; it’s not as intense.

Even so, there is a danger. The long-term side effects are yet to be established.

For more information: http://ecstasy.org/