Seeking Happiness: Understanding the Mechanisms of Mixing Music and Drugs

Adversely, some effects of MDMA usage include paranoia, an increase in body temperature, and profuse sweating, with the latter two associated with common causes of death (Meyer, 2013). With no known beneficial medical uses, the production, possession, and distribution of MDMA is widely criminalized worldwide (Meyer, 2013). The drug itself is produced and distributed illegally at the street level in tablet or capsule form, derived from a compound found in sassafras oil and ocotea cymbarum oil called safrole which is then further isomerized and oxidized (de la Torre et al., 2004; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2014). Unfortunately, with the rising popularity of MDMA use at music festivals, the production of the drug has become increasingly dangerous due to higher demand, forcing manufacturers to lace their drugs with other substances, such as cocaine or opioids. The lacing of other substances makes consumption more harmful for the users and increases the risk of overdose and death caused by these extra substances (Palamar et al., 2016). Although overdosing linked to MDMA consumption has received widespread media attention across the world, there is a steady increase in number of individuals who consume the drug each year in hopes of experiencing a “good time” while attending a music festival (Friedman et al., 2016). Musical auditory stimuli and psychoactive stimulants like MDMA are known to promote happiness in the perceiver (Bedi, Phan, Angstadt, & de Wit, 2009; Menon & Levitin, 2005). Understanding the mechanisms of how MDMA and musical stimuli work and to where they may interact could lead to a better understanding of the motivating factors of combining the two and could potentially lead to solutions in preventing fatal overdosing caused by the consumption of MDMA at music festivals. This review paper will integrate what is known about the effects of music and MDMA on an individual’s happiness, respectively, and as a whole. INTRODUCTION Music festivals of today attract hundreds of thousands of people every year with their visual lights, pyrotechnic shows, heart-pumping sounds, and positive friendliness with other attendees. However, increased popularity of these festivals also increases popularity of common festival behaviour like the consumption of alcohol and drugs. 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly referred to as MDMA, ecstasy, M, or Molly, has slowly become the popular drug of choice amongst festival-goers (Palamar, Acosta, Sherman, Ompad, & Cleland, 2016). MDMA is a recreational drug that affects the brain to induce changes in mood and perception by stimulating a larger release and slower reuptake of serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE), and dopamine (DA). MDMA heavily activates systems of reward and emotion within the brain, thus allowing users to feel more connected with those around them and heightening their senses to the external world (Meyer, 2013). Combining the psychoactive effects of MDMA with the sensory-stimulating atmospheres of music festivals, individuals using the drug report high levels of happiness and euphoria while experiencing the visual, audio, and tactile stimuli presented to them at such events (Van Havere et al., 2011). Seeking Happiness: Understanding the Mechanisms of Mixing Music and Drugs