(NEWS.COM) 19 March 2008:

Little research is done on the effect of illicit drugs: the powers that be are insistent that the effects must be terrible, thus justifying the illegality. Further, any research has to contend with the fact that people are indulging in a habit which is, after all, illegal.

But such work can be done and a recent study has shown that women are much more sensitive to the effects of Ecstasy than men are: higher highs and more depression on the downside.

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise: over and above the differences in body weights and blood volumes, women are more sensitive to both alcohol and prescription drugs.

The thinking is that it’s either a difference in the way that they are all three metabolized, or perhaps the way in which estrogen amplifies the effects.