MDMA was synthesized in the 1970s. Little notice was taken of the mind-altering effects of these drugs until 1976, when a study by the biochemist Alexander Shulgin opened the way to the use of MDMA in psychotherapy. It was also at this time that it became a recreational drug.
一直到一九七六年之前，它的迷幻藥效都沒有被注意過，直到一九七六年生化學家 Alexander Shulgin 的一份研究報告，才讓 MDMA 成為精神醫療用藥，也被當作是具娛樂用途的藥品。