i'm not convinced that mdma isn't neurotoxic, even pure mdma can erode fine axons in the raphe nuclei

Can you link a source?

Wow, what an interesting find. I've never tried E personally myself but I've heard from friends who have and they've said it's quite the experience, a very touch-feel intensive trip.

It's very interesting to see the account of a physician that this drug is safe in controlled environments and situations. I wonder what benefits it would have to offer with its consumption? I've never had any experience with this substance personally so it'll be interesting to hear future developments on this!

Very interesting article, a1pha!

Dr. Perry Kendall stands behind his controversial comments that taking pure ecstasy can be safe.

But B.C.’s chief provincial health officer says he is not advocating for the drug to be legalized and sold in stores, as stated in a previous story.

“I was asked a hypothetical question, which was that if those drugs were to be legalized, what would be the best way of doing it,” he said in an interview Thursday.

Kendall says Canada should instead look at an “evidence-based way” of regulating and controlling psychoactive substances.

“Let’s look at what works and what doesn’t work. Let’s look at what harms of various drugs are and compare them. And let’s look at the impacts of the policies on a drug use,” he said.

“We should be looking at a regulatory regime that is more evidence-based than the current one and decide as a society how we want to control these drugs, given that the current control is not optimal, in my opinion.”

A spokesman for Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq issued a statement in response to the story and Kendall’s clarification.

“Our government is not contemplating any changes that would make ecstasy legal, so we have no further comment to make at this time,” said spokesman Steve Outhouse.

Kendall reiterated that taking MDMA, a pharmaceutically pure product known as ecstasy in its street form, under the right circumstances and in non-toxic dosages can treat conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder.

He compared the substance with alcohol, which is legal, but can cause death if abused.

“We allow people to get intoxicated with alcohol. A bottle of vodka can kill you very easily, if you swallow the whole bottle. It’s addictive,” he said.

He admitted, that if legalized, MDMA would likely be used recreationally, but added that alcohol is arguably more dangerous.

“What is fundamentally the difference between that and a psychoactive substance that makes people feel good and gives them some energy, which as far as we know isn’t addictive, doesn’t cause cancer, doesn’t destroy the brain?” he asked.

The RCMP in B.C., who have a team dedicated to dismantling clandestine drug labs, maintain no amount of the substance is safe.

The medical literature says that MDMA sends waves of serotonin flooding through the brain. The natural brain chemical makes people feel happy, social and intimate with others.

According to Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, MDMA carries a list of potential health effects that include teeth grinding, sweating, increased blood pressure and heart rate, anxiety, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting and convulsions, even at low doses.

The medical establishment widely agrees MDMA is not addictive and new research suggests some of the drug’s long-stated ill effects are exaggerated.

MDMA was criminalized in Canada in 1976 and in the U.S. 1985. It was recently boosted to the top of Canada’s drug scheduling list under the federal government’s omnibus crime bill, meaning it carries penalties similar to those for cocaine and heroin.

With files from the Canadian Press

http://www.jneurosci.org/content/8/8/2788.full.pdf

http://www.thestar.com/n...ores-b-c-health-officer

Isn't it strange how RCMP (The Royal Canadian Police) are portrayed as experts on pharmacology.

http://www.jneurosci.org...ntent/8/8/2788.full.pdf

it's also cited in The Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology, 3rd Ed. (chapter on Serotonin).


you've all heard it before: everything in moderation.

The first article cited here says that there was serotonin depletion but no neurotoxicity at a dose of 10-20 mg / kg, and the second says there was damage to 5ht axons after 20 mg/kg dose, twice a day for 4 days. That dose is totally absurd. Of course a rat brain isnt a perfect model for a human, but if you scale those doses, they are so large the study loses most of its usefulness imo. I think a normal human dose is like 100 mg? for a 70 kg person thats a dose of around 1-2 mg / kg. the poison is in the dose.