Double dose

Sextasy’s effects can be fatal

By KELSEY BLACKWELL
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL

Though drugs have been a part of the club and rave scene for years, experts agree a new drug, which combines ecstasy and Viagra, may have increased lethal effects.
Sextasy, as the drug is known on the street, increases the effects of taking ecstasy alone.
“Ecstasy has been proven to have dangerous effects on the heart,” according to sextasydanger.com “Ecstasy causes high blood pressure and dehydration; Viagra only worsens these effects. Ecstasy alone can be deadly, and mixing it with Viagra makes it even more dangerous.”
Aside from heart failure, the drug is linked to Priapism, an erection that won’t go down over an extended period of time. Severe cases of Priapism are known to cause permanent sexual dysfunction, according to the site.
Taking sextasy also increases the chances that one will engage is risky sexual behaviors, according to a report by ABC News.
“Many of the illicit drugs being abused at clubs and parties give people a euphoric high, making them more open to experimentation with risky behaviors,” ABC reported. “We know that ecstasy and methamphetamine’s reduce sexual function, so the men are using Viagra to enhance their sexual ability.”
The report also stated gay men who engage in sexual activity while under the effects of sextasy were more likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases than straight men.
“Gay men had more sexual partners when compared to straight men and were more likely to engage in sex with individuals who do not know their HIV status or were HIV positive,”according to the report.
A study by Newsweek reported that one-third of all gay men admitted to taking Viagra. And 57 percent of all those infected with HIV also admitted to taking the pill.
Sextasy, which began as a fad among youth in England and Australia, became popular in the United States about a year ago in the country’s gay party culture, according to USA Today.
Though sextasy is a relatively new drug, drugs have been a part of the club and rave scene since the 1980’s, according to a report by the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy.
According to an article by Rolling Stone magazine, the older club drugs – ecstasy, GHB and roofies – are now being combined to create drug cocktails.
Popular combinations include “candy flipping,” ecstasy and LSD; “zanzybar,” ecstasy and Xanax; and “hippy flipping,” ecstasy and mushrooms.
Conclusive evidence on the side effects of these drugs has not yet been reached; however, the negative effects of the older drugs are well known.
The effects of ecstasy typically begin 30-60 minutes after it is taken, the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy reported.
Ecstasy has been attributed to cause confusion, delirium,paranoia, headache, anorexia, cordiogenic collapse, pulmonary edema, muscle tension, and spasms. The report also