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
