The agony after ecstasy

Wed, 14 Jun 2000 19:08:00 +0000

Ecstasy has rolled back into the media spotlight. A wide-eyed young raver stared out from the cover of Time last week, with the headline, "What Ecstasy Does to Your Brain." The first film to be picked up by a major production company this year at the Sundance Film Festival, Greg Harrison's "Groove," a celebration of the San Francisco underground rave scene and ecstasy, just opened in San Francisco and New York. "Better Living Through Circuitry," the Jon Reiss documentary about rave culture and the role ecstasy plays in it, was also recently released. "Ecstasy: The New Beer?" teases the June cover of Spin magazine, an issue devoted to the club scene.

Understanding and embracing the rave scene is suddenly hip, even though the movement has been thriving underground for more than 10 years. Ecstasy is touted as the miracle elixir that not only energizes the late-night electronic dance scene but also encourages the sense of community on which the rave scene is allegedly based. Ecstasy users, myself included, praise the drug for inspiring empathy, compassion and a profound sense of well-being.

Salon.com > Liz O'Brien

The agony after ecstasy