THURSDAY, Dec. 5, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- From 2005 to 2011 there was a 128 percent increase in the number of emergency department visits involving Ecstasy in patients younger than 21 years, according to a report published online Dec. 3 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Researchers from SAMHSA in Rockville, Md., used data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network to investigate the number of emergency department visits involving Ecstasy (also known as "Molly") in patients younger than 21 years from 2005 to 2011.
The researchers found that from 2005 to 2011 there was a 128 percent increase in the estimated number of emergency department visits involving Ecstasy, from 4,460 to 10,176. Alcohol was involved in an average of 33 percent of these visits each year.
"The increase in emergency department visits involving Ecstasy in this population is a cause for concern due to the serious health risks involved with Ecstasy use and the higher potential for abuse when Ecstasy is mixed with alcohol," the authors write.
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