ADAM NOUN (DRUGS)

In the slang of drug users, the hallucinogenic designer drug methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA, also known as Ecstasy. Etymology: The name is probably a type of backslang, reversing the abbreviated chemical name MDMA, dropping the first m, and pronouncing the resulting 'word'; it may be influenced by the associations of the first Adam with paradise. A similar designer drug is known in drugs slang as Eve. History and Usage: For history, see Ecstasy. On the street, its name is 'ecstasy' or 'Adam', which should tell how people on the street feel about it. Los Angeles Times 29 Mar. 1985, section 5, p. 8 One close relative of MDMA, known as Eve--MDMA is sometimes called Adam--has already been shown to be less toxic to rats than MDMA. Because of a 'designer-drug' law passed in 1986, Eve is banned too. Economist 19 Mar. 1988, p. 94