Ecstasy
MDMA can cause brain swelling due to water retention in the body of the user Reuters

UK party-goers are using more MDMA aka Ecstasy than ever before. According to recent The Global Drug Survey 2016, this seems to be the "worst time" in a generation to be using the drug.

And, there is even more bad news for female users as Ecstasy seems to have worse effects on women than men. According to research, scientists believe that this could be because the drug interacts with the body's chemistry differently.

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The report stated that in the past three years, there has been a four-fold increase in British female clubbers seeking emergency medical treatment and women are two to three times more likely to seek emergency treatment than men.

"What I would say to female ecstasy users is that you need to more careful than men," he said. "Women appear to be more at risk of harm," Dr Adam Winstock, the founder of GDS said according to The Guardian.

"Everyone has to be careful, but I think women need to pay extra attention to things like how much they are using, how they are mixing, where they are and who they're with."

In 2016, 10 women died after taking Ecstasy pills or MDMA powder, more than double the number from last year when four cases were recorded.

The risks of the drug have increased further as pills containing higher doses are now swamping the market. According to one theory, Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) causes the body to retain water which can lead to brain swelling. In the case of women users, Oestrogen prevents the body from releasing water easily and ultimately increases the risks with the drug usage.

While the numbers are still fairly low, considering that more than 200,000 people take the drug every weekend, Winstock explained that the effects are still unpredictable and users need to take extreme care with dosage.

"With ecstasy-related deaths approaching the highest they have ever been, alongside some of the highest and most variable strength ecstasy pills in circulation, it's more important than ever this coming party season to take extra care," said Fiona Measham, professor of criminology at Durham University and founder of drug-testing charity The Loop, according to The Guardian.