Former chronic methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) users report mild depressive symptoms
Journal of Psychopharmacology May 1, 2001 Nicholas Macinnes, Sheila L. Handley, G. F. A. Harding 120 citations
Former chronic users of MDMA (ecstasy) who now lead relatively drug-free lives report higher levels of depression than matched non-drug users. In a group of 29 respondents who had consumed an average of 527 tablets over their lifetime and none in the past 14 days, depression scores on the Beck Depression Inventory were significantly elevated compared to controls. Within the user group, depression levels were not related to current use of alcohol, cannabis, or amphetamine, but were positively correlated with an external locus of control and life stress. The strongest predictors of depression were frequent but mild life stress and the quantity of ecstasy tablets consumed over a 12-hour period.