Series: Shining a light on drugs – Episode 4: Ecstasy
Former addict and owner of Wings of Inspiration Sober House, Anthea Da Costa, takes a look at drugs, and the negative effects they have on a person’s mind, body and soul. Episode 4 is about ecstasy.
The Herald recently spoke to Anthea da Costa from Eikepark about the dangers of drug abuse.
Anthea, who visited Randfontein recently for a charity event, has been the owner of the Wings of Inspiration Sober House in Helderkruin for the past four years and has researched multiple drugs, their effects and how they affect a person’s mind, body and soul negatively.
Ecstasy is the topic of this week. According to Anthea, it is usually taken as a pill, tablet or capsule. Taking more than one tablet at a time is called ‘bumping’.
“Ecstasy is a man-made drug. The manufacturers usually add caffeine, amphetamine or even cocaine. Ecstasy is illegal and has similar effects to stimulants. The pills have different colours and are known to be marked with cartoon-like characters,” Anthea explained.
She said using ecstasy has short- and long-term effects. “Impaired judgement, confusion, depression, paranoia and nausea are just some of the short-term effects that users might experience. Prolonged use can cause long-term and permanent damage to the user’s brain, affecting the user’s judgement and ability to think.”
