Doctors at London University have been studying a man who is believed to have taken 40,000 pills of ecstasy, over a period of nine years. For those of us who aren't matheletes, that works out to over twelve pills a day. The largest amount consumed prior to finding this specimen of intelligence was a guy who had taken 2,000 pills. So, congrats on that achievement Mr A.

Though the man, who is now 37, stopped taking the drug seven years ago, he still suffers from severe physical and mental health side-effects, including extreme memory problems, paranoia, hallucinations and depression. He also suffers from painful muscle rigidity around his neck and jaw which often prevents him from opening his mouth. The doctors believe many of these symptoms may be permanent.

The man, known as Mr A in the report in the scientific journal Psychosomatics, started using ecstasy at 21. For the first two years his use was an average of five pills per weekend. Gradually this escalated until he was taking around three and a half pills a day. At the peak, the man was taking an estimated 25 pills every day for four years. After several severe collapses at parties, Mr A decided to stop taking ecstasy. For several months, he still felt he was under the influence of the drug, despite being bedridden.

This guy definitely missed the speech on moderation.

via Guardian