Drug is similar in structure to amphetamines and mescaline.
The effects of MDA were accidentally discovered by G. Alles, the discoverer of amphetamine, who took 1.5 milligrams and saw illusionary smoke rings. Present-day researchers do not regard the drug as a hallucinogen, since subjects do not report hallucinations, visual distorsions, color enhancement, or mental imagery. Instead they experience intensification of
feelings, greater desire to communicate, and heightened reflectiveness. The drug has been used in psychotherapy because it also induces age regression - a sense of reliving specific
childhood experiences while remaining aware of
one's present self. This effect has been induced with other hallucinogens, but with MDA it recurs so regularly and without prompting that it appears to be related to the pharmacology of the drug. Usual dosages are 150 to 200 milligrams and the effects wear off after
seven or eight hours. MDA can be toxic, in dosages of varying amounts depending upon the
individual's sensitivity to it. A regular
dose for some may be fatal to others. Deaths have occurred after ingestion of MDA. Experimenters start with a low
dose - e.g., 10 milligrams - and gradually increase it until toxic symptoms (
skin reactions, profuse sweating, and confusion) appear
