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The chemical 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine was first synthesised in 1912
for use as an intermediate chemical in the preparation of other pharmaceuticals.
It was reinvented in the 1980s as Ecstasy, an indispensable part of youth dance
culture. Matthew Collin’s Altered State (Serpent’s Tail, £10.99, ISBN 1
85242 377 3) rewrites social history as a drug experience: initial euphoria,
diminishing returns, danger and then disillusionment.