UK Government's top drug adviser: Taking Ecstasy is no worse than riding a horse

[BoneThug]

i wonder why a 15 year old girl is riding a horse. it aint cause she always wanted a pony. slut. go to your room and pop pills like a good girl

[ws6ta]

Originally Posted by BNR32_Coupe

Would you want your 15 year old son/daughter to pop E at raves regularly or ride horses?

pop E of course...riding horses is too expensive

[achiam]

The other major thing that must be mentioned is that Ecstasy reacts differently in different ethnic groups. In pharmacology class, we were given studies showing how different ethnic groups genetically lacked a key enzyme used to break down ecstasy.
While 30% of caucasians lacked this enzyme, only 2% of orientals lacked it.
Without the enzyme present, the drug's active ingredient would continue working in the brain longer, and increasing the damage caused by sustained neuron serotonin release.

Ecstasy works on the brain, by prolonging serotonin release. Imagine that your nerves are essentially many millions of extension cords lined up together. A signal initiates the nerve to conduct a weak electrical signal to travel along its length. When it reaches the nerve terminus, the nerve wants to transmit this signal across the gap and to the next nerve. It does this by releasing chemicals into this gap, which rapidly find their way to the next nerve.
The problem is that if these chemicals remain in the gap, the signal is sustained continuously as opposed to a single precise impulse. To prevent this, the end of the first nerve is not only able to release that signalling chemical, but also to retake it up and break it down - this means that the gap will only have chemicals for a very short time.

What ecstasy or MDMA (active ingredient) does, is not only block this signalling chemical's re-uptake from the gap, but facilitates even more release. The nerve is therefore working hardcore overtime to release maximal amounts of serotonin - imagine redlining your car beyond the redline for hours!
Most studies have used brain scans which use radioactive labels as tags - you ingest faintly radioactive materials that bind to serotonin releasing neurons, which show on scans looking for radioactive materials, and it has been shown in many published papers that chronic ecstasy users show much less serotonin neurons.

This is significant, as serotonin in the CNS (brain/nerves) is responsible for many attributes such as emotion, anger, hunger, body temperature, etc etc.

For people with healthy amounts of the enzyme used to break MDMA down, its degree of damage would obviously be less, but this depends on each individual, as your family genetics will always vary.

[achiam]

Originally Posted by Biohazard

just to throw this into your minds;

most doctors/pharmacists/medical people would say the most dangerous drug is alcohol.

Sorry, I completely disagree with you on this.
Alcohol does not damage the nervous system with normal use, and its biological effects are temporary (hangover). In terms of danger, you'd also have to specify what type of danger - danger to the person alone, danger to the public?

[achiam]

Originally Posted by 6chr0nic4

too bad this only applies to pure mdma, NOT ecstasy
ecstasy is fucking terrible, its a drug cocktail mix of unknown party drugs of random amphetamines ... ie speed meth fuck w.e u name it, if it can be binded and pressed into a pill / capsule, and is cheap... chances are its been in an ecstasy pill
ya.. no thanks

the key tho is... MODERATION

Sorry, MDMA is an abbreviation for the Active Ingredient in the street drug "Ecstasy." MDMA on its own will function by forcing the brain's serotonergic nerves to work flat-out, and cause the nerve damage by reducing in numbers (although how this nerve degeneration occurs has not been clearly established). Of greater concern in street drug use however, are the binders and fillers that clandestine drug makers employ in formulating their product. I would wager that 99% of such illicit drug makers have no pharmacology background, and this is why police seized Ecstasy samples routinely contain horrid amounts of poisons you would never suspect (e.g. rat poison, etc etc.)

[Nightwalker]

I hope you all realize that bumping it one class would not make it legal. Currently it's Class A which has the most severe consequences for infractions.

Class A
Ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, crack, magic mushrooms, amphetamines (if prepared for injection).
Possession: Up to seven years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.
Dealing: Up to life in prison or an unlimited fine or both.

Class B Amphetamines, Cannabis, Methylphenidate (Ritalin), Pholcodine.
Possession: Up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.
Dealing: Up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.

Class C
Tranquilisers, some painkillers, Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), Ketamine.
Possession: Up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.
Dealing: Up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.