The second drug, to be taken after the first burst of ecstasy tapers off, is the antidepressant Prozac. Thanks to scientific rumors that have made their way to the dance floor, Chris is taking the combo in the hope that the prescription mood enhancer will protect his brain from the illicit and more dangerous one.

"I want to keep partying for a long time," says Chris, smiling as if he has a doctor's note for the eternal bash.

Spend time with a group of young ecstasy users and you're not likely to hear much concern that the fun could end for good. It's the nature of the drug. Keep your head in the chemical clouds of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and you can't imagine that anything in the world could ever go wrong. Still, there are some ecstasy fans who seem worried about the long-term consequences of their habit. They have growing reason to. Experiments on rats and primates continue to demonstrate that MDMA destroys serotonin nerve endings, possibly beyond repair. A similar loss in human ecstasy users could mean a higher risk for depression, anxiety and memory problems.

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