The use of ecstasy is not confined to the younger generation.

Erin - who does not want her real name to be used - first started using ecstasy two decades ago and still dabbles today.

Now in her 40s and a grandmother, she still occasionally takes the drug and describes her generation who used ecstasy as being like the "flower children" of the 1990s.

She said: "One night when I was 21, I ended up in a club in Edinburgh watching all these people fried out their brains, who looked like they were having the best time of their lives. I hadn't seen anything like it before.

"The first time I took the ecstasy before we left the house. The night was probably a bit of a blur - I just remember my inhibitions were way lower and having a great time.

"I hadn't experienced anything like it. I feel like it changed my life."

Erin compared her experience with that of the hippies in the 1960s. "You hear people talking about the 60s and how they felt something was changing. I think we were like the flower children of the 90s, where everybody came together.

"I take it now and again - I was out in September and I had a fantastic time," she said. "You still bump into a few people you know."

But despite her enthusiasm for the drug, Erin admits she would not like her own children to get involved in ecstasy.

"My kids are all grown up now and I am actually a granny now - but my son is aware of what I got up to. I have knowledge of it so that I can try and educate my children, as I wouldn't like them to do it."