Young ecstasy users are unlikely to suffer severe short term health or behavioral problem than non-users according to a study by the Queensland Alcohol Drug and Education Centre (QADREC).

As many as 6051 people between age 18 and 23 who had taken the drug at least three times in the past 12 months and a control group who did not take ecstasy were assessed during the study.

Andrew Conroy, a senior research officer with the center said that no differences in mental health between the two users groups were noticed when anxiety and depression levels were measured during telephonic and face-to-face interviews. Ecstasy is a drug known to induce euphoria and reduce depression.

But forensic psychologist and University of Canberra Associate Professor Lynne Magor-Blatch said such studies needed to be done on the long-term effects of ecstasy to fully understand its impact on mental health.

She added that ecstasy is within the amphetamine family and it is known that that they do have a very strong connection with mental health problems.

The study showed that there was almost negligible long-term dependence on the drug, with 90.3 per cent of users who took the drug less than weekly due to its "come down" effects.

A user might experience lethargy and depression for some immediate days, but there were no findings on any persistent impacts on mental health.