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

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

The Peace Drug The Washington Post Magazine takes a look at MDMA as a cure for PTSD.
posted by empath on Nov 27, 2007 - 76 comments

Utopian Pharmacology. Can safe, sustainable analogues of MDMA (link to 1914 German patent) be developed? There is an urgent need for non-neurotoxic empathogens and entactogens suitable for lifelong use. Alas no single "magic bullet" yet exists that replicates the subjective effects of MDMA on a long-term basis. Hence most of us are doomed to display the quasi-psychopathic indifference to each other characteristic of the MDMA-naïve state.
posted by three blind mice on May 27, 2006 - 44 comments

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

High Art at the Geffen Contemporary includes an LSD fountain, wow.
posted by xowie on Nov 11, 2005 - 14 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

Dr. Ecstasy. (NYT) A peek inside Sasha Shulgin's infamous lab.
posted by xowie on Jan 29, 2005 - 22 comments

PiHKAL - Phenethylamines I Have Known And Loved: A Chemical Love Story, by Alexander and Ann Shulgin, is the online version of the book of the same name. It contains personal accounts by the Shulgins detailing the chemical procedures used in the synthesis, and lengthy qualitative reports regarding the subsequent ingestion, of 179 different types of Phenethylamines, the family of chemicals that includes 2C-B, Mescaline - the active ingredient in Peyote, and MDMA - better known as ecstasy. See also the sequel TiHKAL - Tryptamines I Have Known And Loved: The Chemistry Continues, again by the Shulgins, whose highlights include DMT and LSD.
posted by ChasFile on Apr 9, 2004 - 16 comments

A study to see if MDMA can help people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder is finally set to begin. Coordinated and funded by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, the study was originally approved in 2001 (and discussed here.) Another study has identified a protein in mice which is the key to the overheating associated with ecstasy, and may lead to a treatment for people. Hopefully this research was more sound than the recent study in which the test monkeys were given the wrong drug (discussed here.)
posted by homunculus on Dec 3, 2003 - 22 comments

A widely-reported study that showed recreational use of MDMA to cause Parkinson's diesase was found to be botched and has now been retracted. The results were not skewed, the margin of error wasn't miscalculated--the primates were given the wrong drug.
posted by brittney on Sep 7, 2003 - 19 comments

The Spiders, Part 3.5 (al Djinn), the latest installment in Patrick Farley's alternate history of the Afghan/U.S. conflict, is live. If you encounter a "Temporarily Unavailable" error, try the mirror server. There were previous threads on Part 1 and Part 2.
posted by homunculus on Aug 8, 2003 - 11 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

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

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

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

Lions and spaceships and talking trees, oh my! For those of us who sneer at MDMA, a more expansive list of chemicals. Am I the only one here who admits to using some of this stuff?
posted by Ezrael on Jun 2, 2000 - 16 comments

Ecstasy.

What's your view? Time has an interesting article on the drug...
posted by meaning on May 31, 2000 - 22 comments