“Some of my friends take MDMA and when I go out with them, particularly if we’re at a party, they’ll often suck on a lollipop or chew lots of gum when they’re out of it. Why do you chew so much when you’ve taken caps or pills?”
Footage taken in nightclubs, dance events or raves often show patrons chewing wildly or sucking on some sort of lollipop (you even see some using pacifiers or ‘dummies’, although this is much more common overseas than it is in Australia). So why do people chew after taking MDMA or ecstasy and are there any harms linked to this behaviour?
MDMA (ecstasy), like speed and ice, has a stimulant effect. These drugs speed up activity in the central nervous system causing adrenaline to surge through the body. This gives the user lots of energy and enables them to dance long into the night – this is one of the main reasons why stimulant drugs can be so popular amongst those involved in the dance scene.
It’s believed that it is this excess adrenaline in your body that makes users chew and grind their teeth (a condition known as ‘bruxism’), as well as causing them to clench their jaw. It’s believed that this can last up to 24 hours after taking the drug. Not everyone experiences this effect – remember, different drugs affect different people in different ways – but all stimulants have the potential to cause this, at least to some extent. It appears that it’s far more likely to occur after taking MDMA due to the increased serotonin release linked to the use of this particular drug. This constant chewing and teeth clenching can become very uncomfortable for the user (as well as making them look very unattractive – sometimes people can be totally unaware that they’re pulling very strange faces when they’ve taken these drugs) and result in an aching jaw. In some cases, people can experience lockjaw (or ‘trismus’), finding themselves unable to fully open their mouth. This can be painful and quite frightening and is caused by the group of muscles associated with movements of the jaw (‘masticatory muscles’) spasming.
In addition, it’s also believed that these drugs can also act as a low-level anaesthetic, resulting in the user not feeling the damage they’ve caused when they’ve bitten or chewed on the inside of their mouth and/or tongue.
Chewing gum and sucking on lollipops are regarded by some as an effective way of reducing this amount of damage to some extent. Those who take these drugs, however, need to be aware that excessive chewing or sucking can also cause damage. How many people do you know that have bitten down on an almost non-existent piece of chewing gum only to find their tongue or lip in the way? I recall one incident at a Medical Tent I was working on when a young man ran in extremely distressed – he had taken MDMA and had coughed up a small amount of blood. He was convinced he had internal bleeding. When he was examined by medical staff he had actually bitten the inside of his mouth and, due to the anaesthetic effect of the drug, was totally unaware of what he had done.
Possibly one of the safer ways of using up the excess adrenaline is by sucking on icy poles or ice cubes. These are not as abrasive as lollipops and rarely cause cuts. Remember that cuts inside the mouth or on the tongue are cause for concern and need to be considered, particularly in relation to sexual behaviour.
Chewing gum or sucking on lollipops may reduce the potential damage caused by this stimulant effect to some extent but, of course, the best way to stay safe is to not use drugs like MDMA. It’s important to remember that, although rare, people do die after using this drug.
First published: May 2015
Reviewed and updated: July 2023
