They are small coloured pills stamped with high-end brand names like Louis Vuitton or Chanel, designed to appeal to young women nightclubbing in the City Heart.

But one 18-year-old Mackay woman discovered the pills' deadly side on Saturday night when she collapsed in a nightclub and was then dumped by security guards at the Wood Street taxi rank, convulsing and vomiting on the ground.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said she was “stupid” for taking the illegal drug MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy.

“I feel stupid to think it was harmless,” she said.

The last thing she remembers on Saturday night was being in a nightclub but for her mother, who was called at 1am and told her daughter, was at Mackay Base Hospital, it was a terrifying experience.

“I went into the emergency department and I saw a blue curtain. The nurse quietly said to me, 'Are you ready?'. I didn't think twice about it, but as she opened those curtains and I saw the backs of six people physically restraining my daughter, I knew I wasn't ready,” she said.

That began three hours of a “rollercoaster ride” of fits, hallucinations, vomiting and a racing heartbeat.

“It was the most frightening experience of my life,” the mother said.

The doctors tried to find out from the young woman's friend what she had taken but all she could tell them was that it was called Louis Vuitton. Finally, after several phone calls to the girls' friends, they found out it was MDMA.

“But they (doctors) said they can't do anything for ecstasy,” her mother said.

Her daughter said she had been taking ecstasy occasionally for about eight months as it was cheaper than drinking.

She and her friends bought the tablets that night at a party, from someone who was taking orders. They each paid $40 and the tablets arrived later. Although she and a close friend both took the same brand only she suffered the violent reaction.

Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Nigel Dalton said MDMA affected people differently.

“There have been cases where people have died after one tablet,” Sgt Dalton said.

The daughter said ecstasy culture was rife here.

“It's massive up town I would say 70-75 per cent of people are on drugs of some kind. It is readily available. Once you know one person you find out how to get it,” she said.

The young woman is now recovering but her mother said she wanted everyone to know just how dangerous the drug could be.

“I want to tell people because if just one person reads this and decides to stop taking ecstasy I will be happy.”