CCSA-MDMA-Drug-Summary-2015-en

www.ccsa.ca • www.cclt.ca Spring 2015 Canadian Drug Summary 

MDMA (Ecstasy, Molly) 

Key points 

The prevalence of past-year ecstasy use is less than 1% and has decreased by half since 2008. 

 

 

1 in 25 Canadian youth in grades 10–12 have reported using ecstasy in the past 12 months. 

Substances sold as ecstasy or Molly might not contain MDMA and might also contain other 

chemicals. 

Introduction 

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methamphetamine) is a synthetically derived chemical that is used 

recreationally as a party drug. Colloquially, MDMA is referred to as ecstasy or molly. These drugs are 

made in illegal laboratories, often with a number of different chemicals; they might not contain 

MDMA and the amount of MDMA contained in each batch can vary significantly. Ecstasy and molly 

are available in pill, capsule and powder forms, making it very difficult to ascertain the true contents 

of the drug. Pills are typically coloured and stamped with a logo. 

Illegal drugs, including ecstasy, accounted for approximately $8.2 billion (about 20%) of the nearly 

$40 billion cost of substance abuse in Canada in 2002. 1 

Effects of MDMA Use 

Short-term: The short-term effects of MDMA use include muscle aches; 2 nausea and vomiting; 2,3 

teeth grinding; 2,3,4 increased energy; 3,4 hyperactivity; 3 accelerated heart rate; 2,3,4 increased 

temperature and sweating; 2,3,4 depression; 3 and sleeplessness. 2 

 

Long-term: The long-term effects of MDMA use include sleeping problems; 2,3,4,5,6 high blood 

pressure; liver problems; 7 panic attacks; 5 jaundice; 7 memory deficits; 4,5,8,9 and attention deficits. 5 

Legal Status in Canada 

MDMA is a Schedule I drug under the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). 

Possession of MDMA can result in seven years imprisonment, while trafficking and production of the 

drug can result in life imprisonment. 

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse • Centre canadien de lutte contre les toxicomanies Page 1

Canadian Drug Summary: MDMA (Ecstasy, Molly) 

Past-Year Use of Ecstasy in Canada 

Figure 1. Prevalence of self-reported past-year use of ecstasy by age category 

7.0% 

6.0% 

5.0% 

4.0% 

3.0% 

2.0% 

Youth (15-24) 

General Population 

(15+) 

Adults (25+) 

1.0% 

0.0% 

2008* 2009* 2010 2011* 2012* 2013* 

Sources: CADUMS 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012; CTADS 2013 

Note: Figures identified with an asterisk should be interpreted with caution due to high sampling variability. Figures for 

youth are not available for 2012 due to data suppression. Figures for adults are not available for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 

and 2013 due to data suppression. 

General population (age 15+): The prevalence of past-year ecstasy use among the general 

population is quite low and has decreased by half since 2008. 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 The most recent estimate, 

taken from the 2013 Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CTADS), indicates that only 

0.4%* of Canadians over the age of 15 reported using ecstasy in the past year. 15 

Students (grades 7–12): Findings from the 2012–2013 Youth Smoking Survey indicate that 2.6% of 

Canadian students in grades 7–12 reported using ecstasy in the past 12 months. Students in grades 

10–12 had a significantly higher prevalence of past-year ecstasy use than students in grades 7–9 

(4.3% vs. 0.9%). The prevalence of past-year ecstasy use among students was similar between 

males and females (2.9% and 2.3%, respectively). 16 

Youth (age 15–24): Youth have the highest prevalence of past-year ecstasy use among all 

Canadians sampled in the general population. According to the 2013 CTADS, the past-year 

prevalence of ecstasy use among youth was 1.9%*. 16 

Adults (age 25+): Due to an insufficient number of respondents, it is not possible to report the pastyear 

prevalence of ecstasy use among Canadian adults using 2013 CTADS data. 16 

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse • Centre canadien de lutte contre les toxicomanies 

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Past-Year Use among High-Risk Populations 

Figure 2. Prevalence of self-reported past-year ecstasy use among high risk populations by city (2013) 

100.0% 

90.0% 

80.0% 

70.0% 

60.0% 

50.0% 

40.0% 

30.0% 

20.0% 

10.0% 

0.0% 

Street Entrenched 

Adult Drug Users 

Street-Involved Youth 

Drug Users 

Recreational Drug 

Users 

Source: 2012-2013 Monitoring of Alcohol and Drug Use among High-Risk Populations Study (HRPS) 

Street Entrenched Adults: 1 In 2012, the prevalence of past-year ecstasy use among street 

entrenched adults ranged from 7.7% in Calgary, Alberta, to 33.8% in Toronto, Ontario. 17 . In 2013, the 

past-year prevalence of ecstasy use among street entrenched adults ranged from 7.5% in 

Vancouver, British Columbia, to 27.5% in Toronto, Ontario (see Figure 2). 17 Compared to streetinvolved 

youth and recreational drug users, street entrenched adults had the lowest self-reported 

prevalence of past-year ecstasy use in all cities where data was provided for both 2012 and 

2013. 17,18,19 

Street Involved Youth: 2 In 2012, the prevalence of past-year ecstasy use among street involved 

youth ranged from 27.5% in Halifax, Nova Scotia to 50.6% in Montreal, Quebec. 18 In 2013, the pastyear 

prevalence of ecstasy use among street-involved youth ranged from 30.0% in Calgary, Alberta, 

to 72.2% in Toronto, Ontario (see Figure 2). 18 

Recreational Drug Users: 3 In 2012, the prevalence of past-year ecstasy use among recreational drug 

users ranged from 30.8% in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to 78.8% in Montreal, Quebec. 19 In 2013, the 

prevalence of past-year ecstasy use among recreational drug users ranged from 32.5% in Winnipeg, 

Manitoba, to 75.0% in Regina, Saskatchewan (see Figure 2). 19 With the exception of Winnipeg in 

1 Street-entrenched adults include individuals 19 years of age or older with no permanent shelter. To be included in the study, they had to have used at 

least one drug (excluding alcohol and tobacco) at least once in each of the last six months prior to each of the interviews. 

2 Street-involved youth include individuals 15–24 years of age who might be experiencing total homelessness; have temporary, but not permanent, 

shelter; use services oriented to street youth; or were identified by local stakeholders as “street-involved.” To be included in the study, they had to have 

used at least one drug (excluding alcohol and tobacco) at least once in each of the last six months prior to each of the interviews. 

3 

Recreational drug users include individuals that were recruited at an event-specific site (e.g., rave, warehouse party) or permanent night club sites. 

To be included in the study, they had to have used at least one drug (excluding alcohol and tobacco) at least once in each of the last six months prior 

to each of the interviews. 


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2012, and Toronto and Montreal in 2013, recreational drug users had the highest self-reported 

prevalence of past-year ecstasy use among all three high-risk populations. 17,18,19 

Ranking among Top Five Substances 

Table 1. Top five substances used in the past year by Canadians 

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 

General Population 

(15+) 

Alcohol 

(75.9%) 

Cannabis 

(10.6%) 

Cocaine/Crack 

(0.9%)* 

Hallucinogens 

and Salvia 

(0.6%)* 

Ecstasy 

(0.4%)* 

Youth (15-24) 

Alcohol 

(72.6%) 

Cannabis 

(24.4%) 

Hallucinogens 

and Salvia 

(2.7%) 

Cocaine/Crack 

(2.4%) 

Ecstasy 

(1.4%)* 

Adults (25+) 

Alcohol 

(76.5%) 

Cannabis 

(8.0%) 

N/A 

(suppressed) 

N/A 

(suppressed) 

N/A 

(suppressed) 

Source: CTADS 2013 

Note: Figures identified with an asterisk should be interpreted with caution due to high sampling variability. 

Past-Year Use of Ecstasy Internationally 

According to data obtained from the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Canada had 

a lower past-year prevalence of ecstasy use among the general population than the United States 

and England and Wales. 

1.8% 

1.6% 

1.4% 

1.2% 

Figure 3. International past-year use of ecstasy 

1.0% 

0.8% 

0.6% 

Canada 

United States 

England and Wales 

0.4% 

0.2% 

0.0% 

2009 2010 2011 2012 

Source: data.unodc.org 


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Enforcement 

In 2012, 51.4 kilograms (66,048 tablets) of ecstasy-type substances were seized in Canada. 20 In the 

same year, police reported: 

 

 

 

348 incidents of ecstasy possession (187 charges); 

163 incidents of ecstasy trafficking (106 charges); and 

Six incidents of ecstasy production (four charges). 

In 2013, ecstasy-related possession and trafficking incidents reported by police decreased by 19.3% 

and 16.6% respectively, while incidents of ecstasy production increased by 33.3%. 21 

Federal Initiatives to Address the Problem 

Bill C-10, known as the Safe Streets and Communities Act, received royal assent in March 2012. 

This bill introduced mandatory minimum sentences for trafficking in MDMA (ecstasy, molly) when 

aggravating factors such as violence (one year) or proximity to a school (two years) are present. 22 

Judges are not required to impose these mandatory minimums if offenders complete a drug 

treatment court or other court-approved addiction treatment program. 

Additional Resources 

 

 

 

Cross-Canada Report on Student Alcohol and Drug Use 

Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey 

www.Xperiment.ca 

ISBN 978-1-77178-243-2 © Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse 2015 

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse changes lives by bringing people and 

knowledge together to reduce the harm of alcohol and other drugs on society. We partner 

with public, private and non-governmental organizations to improve the health and safety 

of Canadians. 

CCSA activities and products are made possible through a financial contribution from 

Health Canada. The views of CCSA do not necessarily represent the views of the 

Government of Canada. 


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1 

Rehm, J., Baliunas, D., Brochu, S., Fischer, B., Gnam, W., Patra, J., … Taylor, B. (2006). The costs of substance abuse in Canada 2002. 

Ottawa, ON: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. 

2 

National Institute of Drug Abuse. (2006). MDMA (Ecstasy) Abuse. Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/researchreports/mdma-ecstasy-abuse/letter-director. 

3 

Baylen, C.A., & Rosenberg, H. (2006). A review of the acute subjective effects of MDMA/ecstasy. Addiction, 101(7), 933–947. 

4 

Teter, C.J., & Guthrie, S.K. (2001). A comprehensive review of MDMA and GHB: two common club drugs. Pharmacotherapy, 21(12), 

1486–1513. 

5 

Maxwell, J.C. (2005). Party drugs: properties, prevalence, patterns, and problems. Substance Use Misuse, 40(9–10), 1203–1240. 

6 

Chummun, H., Tilley, V., & Ibe, J. (2010). 3,4-methylenedioxyamfetamine (ecstasy) use reduces cognition. British Journal of Nursing, 

19(2), 94–100. 

7 

Hall, A.P., & Henry, J.A. (2006). Acute toxic effects of 'Ecstasy' (MDMA) and related compounds: overview of pathophysiology and clinical 

management. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 96(6), 678–685. 

8 

Blagrove, M., Seddon, J., George, S., Parrott, A.C., Stickgold, R. Walker, M.P., … Morgan, M.J. (2011). Procedural and declarative memory 

task performance, and the memory consolidation function of sleep, in recent and abstinent ecstasy/MDMA users. Journal of 

Psychopharmacology, 25(4), 465–477. 

9 

Brown, J., McKone, E., & Ward, J. (2010). Deficits of long-term memory in ecstasy users are related to cognitive complexity of the task. 

Psychopharmacology, 209(1), 51–67. 

10 

Health Canada. (2013). Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey: Summary of results for 2012. Ottawa, ON: Author. 

11 


12 


13 


14 


15 

Statistics Canada. (2015). Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey: Summary of results for 2013. Ottawa, ON: Author. 

16 

Health Canada. (2013). Youth Smoking Survey 2012–2013: Supplementary Tables. Ottawa, ON: Author. 

17 

Health Canada. (2014). Monitoring of Alcohol and Drug Use among High-Risk Populations Study (HRPS): Street-Entrenched Adult Drug 

Prevalence Results 2012–2013. Ottawa, ON: Author. 

18 

Health Canada. (2014). Monitoring of Alcohol and Drug Use among High-Risk Populations Study (HRPS): Street-Involved Youth Drug 

Users Prevalence Results 2012–2013. Ottawa, ON: Author. 

19 

Health Canada. (2014). Monitoring of Alcohol and Drug Use among High-Risk Populations Study (HRPS): Recreational Drug Users 

Prevalence Results 2012–2013. Ottawa, ON: Author. 

20 

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2012). Drug seizures report. Vienna, Austria: Author. 

21 

Statistics Canada. (2015). Incident-based crime statisitcs by detailed violations. Ottawa, ON: Author. 

22 

Barnett, L., Dupuis, T., Kirkby, C., MacKay, R., Nicol, J., & Béchard, J. (2012). Legislative summary of Bill C-10: An Act to enact the Justice 

for Victims of Terrorism Act and to amend the State Immunity Act, the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the 

Corrections and Conditional Release Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and other Acts. 

Ottawa, ON: Library of Parliament. 


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