The Right Answers.(mail)

Q. What exactly is "ecstasy," and what are its medical consequences?

W.B., Beech Grove, Ind.

A. Ecstasy is an illegal drug that has become associated with "raves," or all-night parties, because it can overpower the need to eat, drink, or sleep -- thereby enabling the user to party for extended periods of time. It affects a brain chemical called serotonin, which regulates sleep, appetite, mood, emotion, memory, and sexual behavior. Ecstasy, sometimes called XTC or E, reportedly induces euphoria and sexual arousal. The scientific name of the drug is methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA. The evidence indicates that heavy use of the drug can cause kidney and heart failure, and sometimes death. According to a study published in the British medical journal The Lancet, the drug may cause significantly more brain damage to women than to men.

Q. What happened to the McDonnell Douglas case in which the company was accused of selling sophisticated equipment to Communist China?

S.G., Keller, Texas

A. In 1995, McDonnell Douglas told the Commerce Department that aerospace equipment it had sold to Communist China had been found in a military facility in the city of Nanchang. The firm sold $5.4 million worth of sophisticated machine tools to Beijing in 1994.

In May of 2001, after a six-year investigation, the state-run China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corp. pleaded no contest to a violation of U.S. export laws and paid a fine of $1 million for its role. A California subsidiary of the Chinese company also paid $1.3 million.