MDMA, also referred to as molly or ecstasy, is known to enhance feelings of intimacy and connectedness. Can it also enhance arousal? Photo credit: luckakcul.
MDMA, aka ecstasy or molly, is often used as a euphoric party drug. It makes users want to dance uncontrollably, feel and touch everything and anything, hug and embrace friends — and possibly strangers — and unfortunately grind down on their teeth until their jaws are numb with soreness. Some experience anxiety on the drug, while others experience connectedness and feel calmer than they ever have before.
Some MDMA users also experience enhanced sexual desires. Others, however, just deeply crave the feeling of innocent affection and closeness, according to MIC. The truth is, drugs affect everyone differently. But is MDMA scientifically proven to increase feelings of arousal, or is that a myth?
What is MDMA?
MDMA is a psychoactive drug that chemists derived from safrole oil, according to the Drug Policy Alliance.
The hallucinogen increases the release of three key neurotransmitters — dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine, according to VICE.
Harry Sumnall, a professor of substance use at Liverpool John Moores University, told VICE how due to the rush of serotonin MDMA causes, it amplifies how people experience physical and emotional pleasure. In that case, these prolonged and intensifying feelings may cause arousal.
Aside from arousal, some common effects also include euphoria, empathy, energy, relaxation and enhanced perception, American Addiction Centers reported. Other less pleasurable effects may also include nausea, sweating, rapid heart rate, increased body temperature, jaw clenching and a dry mouth.
Scientific History of MDMA
Scientists originally knew MDMA as “methylsafrylaminc,” the National Institute on Drug Abuse explained. A German pharmaceutical company developed it in 1912, but recreational use did not surface until the late 1970s.
In 1976, chemist Alexander Shulgin developed a synthesis method and tested the drug on himself, reported the Drug Policy Alliance.
Shulgin believed the drug could be valuable in therapy. In 1977, he shared it with his psychotherapist friend, Leo Zeff. Zeff reportedly shared it with thousands of other psychotherapists and psychiatrists, according to American Addiction Centers.
Some psychiatrists at the time believed it was useful in psychotherapy, even though it had not undergone proper clinical trials. Because of its effects of increasing empathy and reducing fear, they believed it helped patients communicate better and achieve insights about their issues.
By the 1980s, over 1,000 therapists were utilizing MDMA in therapy, and an estimated 500,000 doses were given until it became illegal. Therapists wanted to continue using MDMA as a therapeutic aid and researching its effects before it became too public. They fought to keep the drug on a low profile; they succeeded at that from 1977 until the early 80s. However MDMA started to become popularly used as a street drug and in rave scenes.
Recreational Use of MDMA
In 1981, a Los Angeles distributor coined the term ecstasy to describe MDMA for marketing purposes. Texas chemists began distributing and selling it throughout Texas and New York, American Addiction Centers reported.
By 1985, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) banned and classified MDMA as a schedule I drug, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Schedule I drugs are substances with a high potential for abuse which officials do not recognize as having medical use, according to the DEA. Some of these drugs include heroin, LSD, cannabis and peyote. MDMA is still currently a schedule I substance.
However, the FDA approved the use of MDMA in a study published in 2021, reported The New York Times. In this study, MDMA use in therapy brought relief to at least 67% of participants suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
MDMA’s Effect on Arousal
Despite MDMA’s schedule I drug classification, it is still widely used around the country.
According to a Global Drugs Survey from 2014, which the Drug Policy Alliance reported, out of approximately 50% of young adults who reportedly go out to nightclubs at least four times a year, MDMA was one of the top five drugs used in the past year.
In fact, users commonly consume MDMA at parties, concerts, clubs and festivals.
Neuroscientist Dr. Jack Lewis told VICE how the environment one takes MDMA in — in addition to its mood-boosting effects — plays a big role in increasing sexual arousal. For example, in party settings, socializing and dancing with new people can influence the feeling of arousal while taking MDMA.
Professor Harry Sumnall also told VICE that there may be interaction with oxytocin when under the influence of MDMA.
Oxytocin – which many describe as “the love hormone” – is a neurotransmitter that experts associate with empathy and sexual activity. Our bodies release oxytocin during hugging and orgasm, Medical News Today explained.
Experimental Research on MDMA
To learn more about MDMA’s effect on arousal, researchers assessed its role in sexual function. In a European Psychiatry-published experiment, researchers evaluated 35 healthy recreational users (20 men and 15 women, age 21-48) on their sexual function while under the influence of MDMA. MDMA reportedly increased desire and satisfaction in over 90% of the subjects.
“Orgasm was delayed but perceived as more intense. Erection was impaired in 40% of the men,” the study stated. “It seems that MDMA impairs sexual performance, in spite of enhancement of sexual desire and the perception of greater satisfaction.”
While MDMA can potentially have an effect on sexual arousal, studies show that arousal is not always a common property of the drug.
For example, Matthias Liechti, head of the psychopharmacology research unit at the University of Basel, told MIC how MDMA enhances feelings of relaxation, alters sense of touch, and indirectly facilitates physical — though non-sexual — interactions.
Craving Physical Touch
User Andrea Rosa, whose name she asked Emerald to change due to MDMA’s current illegal status in the U.S., shared how her experience on MDMA increased feelings of empathy. Rosa shared how while it did increase feelings of desire, it wasn’t necessarily arousal.
“When I took Molly it definitely made me feel a lot. I met this guy at a festival and we started hugging and it felt crazy. When we kissed, it felt like fireworks going off,” Rosa said. “I thought it was love at first sight, but he ended up being the most toxic guy I have ever been with. I think MDMA just makes you very empathetic, loving and open to people.”
Another user, Jessica Smith, whose real name Emerald also changed, said she didn’t particularly feel sexually aroused while taking MDMA.
“Pretty much every time I’ve done MDMA, I wouldn’t say I was experiencing any arousal that I was actually aware of,” Smith told Emerald. “But I did definitely crave physical touch and affection more than I would otherwise. In general I actually really don’t like physical touch, but on MDMA I find myself wanting to hug my friends and be close with those around me.”
Additionally, Anna Santiago, who also asked Emerald to change her name, said MDMA enhances her craving for physical touch.
“It [MDMA] makes you feel every piece of wind that flies by. It gives you chills from head to toe. You kind of feel like you want someone’s skin to melt onto yours,” Santiago said. “It’s not even sexually, but if you would just brush your hand across mine it’d feel amazing.”
MDMA User who did Experience Arousal
But for other users like Jacob Dawson, whose name Emerald also changed, MDMA did inhibit some form of arousal, but not in the way he had expected. Dawson humorously described how despite the immense amount of confidence he would experience, he was unable to become erect while under the influence of MDMA.
“When it [MDMA] would hit I would feel like Superman . . . I felt like I was able to talk to any girl. I had game, like crazy game every single time I took it . . . But when it came down to the task [sexual intercourse], I couldn’t perform.” Dawson said with a laugh, “It was the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen.”
Connection Between MDMA and Arousal
Everyone reacts differently to different substances. Because of people’s different brain chemistry, one user may want to hold hands and cuddle while another might crave a deeper sense of intimacy, reported VICE.
Some users turned those MDMA-caused feelings of intimacy and arousal into sensual, affectionate intercourse, according to MIC.
Others, however, use the opportunity to increase emotional rather than physical intimacy, Emerald previously reported.
In fact, the majority of users will admit they experience feelings of affection and connectedness, but not exactly in a sexual manner.
According to Science Direct, the dopamine rush caused by MDMA enhances sexual drive. But the serotonergic properties of the drug typically impair sexual arousal and functions. So basically, the connection between MDMA and sexual arousal is present but also blocked at the same time.
Overall, some reportedly experience arousal on MDMA while others do not. This also varies by how sexual some individuals may be in comparison to others. Scientific studies prove that while there may be a connection between MDMA and arousal, the psychoactive drug does not necessarily cause arousal.
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