Ecstasy was developed by the pharmaceutical company Merck in 1912. In its original form it was known as "MDMA". It was used by the U.S. Army in tests of psychological warfare in 1953, and then reappeared in the 1960s as a "deterrent-reducing" psychotherapeutic drug. In the early 1980s, MDMA was touted as "the hottest thing in pursuit of happines