The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a search of your trash doesn't violate your privacy. This decision is in line with that of the United States. [more inside]
posted by Lemurrhea on Apr 9, 2009 - 80 comments

Ecstasy's long-term effects revealed. "Enough time has finally elapsed to start asking if ecstasy damages health in the long term. According to the biggest review ever undertaken, it causes slight memory difficulties and mild depression, but these rarely translate into problems in the real world. While smaller studies show that some individuals have bigger problems, including weakened immunity and larger memory deficits, so far, for most people, ecstasy seems to be nowhere near as harmful over time as you may have been led to believe." [Via]
posted by homunculus on Feb 12, 2009 - 94 comments

The Economist on Drugs -- Scientists in North America, Europe and Israel are studying the use of MDMA, LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, marijuana and other banned psychoactive substances in treating conditions such as anxiety, cluster headaches, addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder. They are supported by private funds from a handful of organisations: the Beckley Foundation in Britain; the Heffter Research Institute and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in America. [related]
posted by kliuless on Dec 28, 2008 - 43 comments

Hi there, it’s Gail Westerfield, the writer's super heroine, and I'm feeling groovy thanks to Dr. Michael Mithoefer. Previously.
posted by gman on Nov 13, 2008 - 20 comments

Amazing Birth (NSFW). One link youtube post, requires login for age verification, but it's worth it.
posted by alms on Jan 20, 2008 - 136 comments

Not just for PTSD.
posted by gman on Dec 10, 2007 - 39 comments

Brains!
posted by homunculus on Apr 27, 2007 - 11 comments

Five Blind Boys Of Alabama - Too Close
Supreme Angels - Hush Hush
Soul Stirrers - Listen To The Angels Sing
King Louis Narcisse - This Little Light Of Mine
Goldia Hayes with the Harmonizing Four - Beams of Heaven
Sister Rosetta Tharpe & Choir - Up Above My Head
Hall Johnson Choir - Little Black Sheep
Norfleet Brothers - I Am A Pilgrim And A Stranger
Caravans - No Coward Soldier
Soul Stirrers - I'm A Soldier In The Army Of The Lord
Gospel Paraders - Have You Got Good Religion
Pilgrim Jubilee Singers - Testify
Imperial Gospel Singers - The Lord Will see You Through
Lucy Rodgers Singers - Hold To God's Unchanging Hand

YouTube in the Holy Spirit--mostly old school black gospel...
posted by y2karl on Dec 4, 2006 - 53 comments

Ecstasy is good for your brain. A new study suggests that MDMA may actually increase the survival of dopamine neurons, suggesting it may be helpful to combat diseases like Parkinsons. This is already supported by some anecdotal evidence.
posted by empath on Oct 23, 2006 - 62 comments

Fox pussies out. Recently a bill passed in mexico legalizing all drugs under certain specified quantities. The bill was promoted By Vincente Fox's party, and came from his offices. However he decided not to sign it under U.S. pressure.

There go my vacation plans.
posted by Paris Hilton on May 4, 2006 - 57 comments

How not to do MDMA.
posted by loquacious on Apr 4, 2006 - 91 comments

I told you Ecstasy was good for you. "The study of Ecstasy for the terminally ill will involve 12 cancer patients who have less than a year to live. They'll receive varying doses during two strictly supervised therapeutic sessions. The drug, once hailed as 'penicillin for the soul,' is a chemical cousin to amphetamines that reportedly induces feelings of profound empathy. It will be combined with traditional psychotherapy, and, [Dr.] Halpern hopes, 'enable them to open up in therapy so they can talk about challenging issues and resolve their grief.'" (reg rq'd)
posted by tsarfan on Apr 11, 2005 - 45 comments

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's MDMA Police uncover ecstasy ring in UK targeting children by stamping the image of Harry Potter on the pills. Wonder if Rowling will work X into the next story line? Don't know whether to laugh or cry.
posted by xmutex on Jan 22, 2003 - 25 comments

Ecstasy is being hailed as the key to better treatments for the Parkinson's disease, marking a complete turnaround from a few weeks ago when ecstasy was condemned for causing the disease.
posted by semmi on Nov 7, 2002 - 26 comments

If you still go to raves, think twice before popping that pill this weekend. A new study by JHU suggests that the long-term effects of esctasy could lead to conditions similar to Parkinson's. [related: Erowid's MDMA vault]
posted by hobbes on Sep 27, 2002 - 37 comments

Drug War Roundup IV. An athlete who refused a drug test was stripped of her awards. She plays bridge. American Indians who honed their skills tracking drug smugglers recently trained Baltic border guards in the hopes of preventing nuclear weapon proliferation. Another chapter was written in the ongoing "is ecstasy all that dangerous?" debate. Salvatore Gravano is on his way back to prison for running an ecstasy ring. Nevada is edging closer to legalizing up to three ounces of marijuana, to the disdain of Bush's Drug Policy director and Nevada's biggest police group. A Canadian right wing party and cops came out against their government's recent pro-legalization report. I see a pattern, but maybe it's just the pudding.
posted by raaka on Sep 7, 2002 - 30 comments

Monkeys use millipede juice as Ecstacy-style party drug They bite the millipedes, then reach behind their back and rub it on their fur...Their eyes glaze over...one monkey shared a millipede with four family members and the entire family turned into a 'writhing mass.' How cute is that? For context, here's a December report of wild primates ingesting plants with stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. Welcome to the new field of Zoopharmacognosy, which studies the spontaneous medicinal (and recreational) use of plants by non-human animals. An intro to the subject. Perhaps now you're ready to chew on Terrence McKenna's visionary notion that psychedelic mushrooms were the spark for the development of consciousness in apes.
posted by mediareport on Aug 11, 2002 - 25 comments

This is your brain on Ecstasy(or An MDMA Neurochemistry Slideshow) Ecstasy and all its Glory. DanceSafe also has pill testing, Drug info , and a huge MessageBoard.
posted by Niahmas on May 6, 2002 - 7 comments

DEA leaked report on Israeli spy ring Leaked report with blacked out names and no title etc? Note that the spies, if such they are, were gathering info dealing with drug enforcement and not with American military. Is this good? No Bad? yes. But seemingly not bad enough to anything other than shipping them out. Israeli mb big on Ecstasy and DEA well aware of this (If I am, why wouldn't they?). pdf file
posted by Postroad on Mar 23, 2002 - 7 comments

"The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS)" is the Trade Association for "America's favorite brands of distilled spirits." They try to promote pro-liquor causes such as reducing tariffs on alcohol and increasing the number of states selling it Sunday. Here is where it gets interesting: their site is at: www.discus.health.org/ which is (obviously) a subdomain of health.org. If you go to health.org there is no mention of DISCUS involvement. The health.org 'about' page implies that the site is jointly run by several Federal Agencies. Health.org itself seems devoted to stopping drugs in their seedy illegal tracks. Take a look at: "Marijuana: Weeding out the hype" or this "Prevention Alert" which suggests "Skewed articles can be used in the classroom to provide 'teachable moments' in seeking the facts about... ecstasy." Is it troubling that "the trade association for... America's favorite brands of distilled spirits" is operating behind the scenes of the 'government sponsored' anti-drug site with no disclosure? Would it be too jaded to conclude that when health.org commands teens: "If you're smoking marijuana--stop!" that the puppet master is more worried about the fierce competition presented by non-alcoholic drugs than they are genuinely concerned about the health.org of young people?
posted by limitedpie on Mar 8, 2002 - 22 comments

"We recognise that for many clubbers, taking drugs is an integral part of their night out," said a Home Office spokesman. The government has produced a booklet advising club owners on how to deal with drug use rather than prevent it. A realistic attitude to (inevitable) drug taking?
posted by Summer on Mar 7, 2002 - 18 comments

Is a technology of ecstasy worth the risk? My favourite critic Barbara Ehrenreich writes a real thought-provoker for Forbes.

"We don't need ecstasy, of course. For that matter, we don't need plain old genitally driven orgasms either; humans can get along just fine and even reproduce without them. But we are, for unknown evolutionary reasons, wired for ecstatic experience--never mind that our current social arrangements do not encourage it. Since ancient techniques of ecstasy like the danced ritual are no longer easily applicable, why not develop new ones, more congenial to an overpopulated and urbanized world?" Well, why not? Aldous Huxley's Soma is way overdue anyway.
posted by theplayethic on Jan 31, 2002 - 18 comments

U.S. Military worried about Ecstasy use among soldiers. Yeah, I suppose they would be. Last thing we need are a bunch of empathetic, self-aware, hired killers. Seeing one's enemy as an extension of oneself tends to muck up the whole nationalism concept, and we can't have that, now can we?
posted by Optamystic on Apr 16, 2001 - 88 comments

Proposal to make ecstasy sentencing harsher than heroin passed despite opposition from the Federation of American Scientists (Acrobat req'd). One of these opponents from the Federation served as Nixon's drug czar. Why is the government so hard on ecstasy? What effect will this have on the drug war in general? And is this anything but an empty (but harmful) political move?
posted by pikachulolita on Mar 21, 2001 - 25 comments

Man, do I need therapy or what?
Article at wired about the legalization of MDMA for theraputic use in as soon as 5 years. It's defined theraputic effect is "empathy". Discuss.
posted by Hackworth on Feb 5, 2001 - 10 comments

A unusually even-handed article about Ecstasy use. The author describes his own experiences in the mid-80s with the now-popular drug . Nice to see a mainstream publication tackling this issue in the right way.
posted by brittney on Jan 21, 2001 - 11 comments

If we're going to talk about Drugs then really the discussion is incomplete without a link to Erowid, the world most comprehensive warehouse of personal experience reports from users of psychedelic materials.
posted by bug on Jun 2, 2000 - 5 comments

Not that I'm into that sort of thing, but PillReports - apparently a spinoff of BlueLight (wonder how much KMart offered for that one) - offers moderated discussion about Ecstacy, so you might be able to get some idea of what that pill you just paid $20 for is likely to do to you. Things there aren't verified by actual lab tests like they are at DanceSafe, but it's better than being completely uninformed.
posted by endquote on Mar 27, 2000 - 3 comments