The Facts about Ecstasy

Children's Literature

Part of Benchmark Books' "Drugs" series, this title presents an extremely dense discussion about the drug Ecstasy. Five chapters provide an introduction to the popular club drug, its effect on neurotransmitters, its physiological and psychological effect, its legal status, and steps toward breaking an ecstasy habit. The scope of the material far exceeds the limits of this small, colorful but ultimately unattractively text-bookish volume (e.g., among other topics, it addresses the mechanism of three types of neurotransmitters, the causes of post-traumatic stress syndrome, and the historical reasons for the Dutch province of North Brabant's role in drug distribution). The necessarily dense explanations exceed the comprehension level of its high school student audience. The supplementary material is of uneven quality: diagrams are either college-level or overly simplistic, and graphs are of dubious quality (e.g., LSD's nicknames are listed as Meth and Speed, while Fetanyl as Acid). Other questions may arise from apparently conflicting facts (e.g., the text states that possession of 800 ecstasy tablets) brings a five-year prison term, the same length of time for possession of five pills as reported in a first-person account). Another shortcoming is that the supporting scientific and photographic material, while valid, dates from the late 90s to early 2000s and thus may fail to foster feelings of identity among the high school audience. Finally, the last chapter, "designing a drug-free life," is disturbing in that it attempts to address this serious issue in under six text pages, offering little depth. 2005, Benchmark Books/Marshall Cavendish, Ages 12 to 18.
—Deborah Dysart-Gale