3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
Experimental and Clinical Neurotoxicology March 9, 2000 William Slikker Jr., Herbert H Schaumburg
MDMA was first synthesized in 1912 as an appetite suppressant but was never marketed. It is a white, water-soluble solid with a bitter taste. Its two isomers have different pharmacological and metabolic effects. Since the 1970s, MDMA and its analog MDA have been used in psychoanalysis to enhance conversation and introspection; MDMA was briefly legally available for psychiatric use in the United States. Due to its abuse potential and reported neurotoxicity, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration classified MDMA as a Schedule I substance in 1986.