From: dstalder@gmuvax2.gmu.edu (Darren/Torin/Who ever...)
Subject: Re: Ecstasy
Summary: Ecstasy has not been found to be neurotoxic
Organization: George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 05:24:11 GMT

In article <1993Jan22.073132.3739@news.yale.edu> FRICHARD@biomed.med.yale.edu (Frank Richardson) writes:
>On the contrary, I would say that it is quite neurotoxic. Ecstacy causes a
>profound release of the neurotrasmitter serotonin. It over stimulates the
>cells so much they usually die. In rodents, as much as 80% of the
>serotonergic neurons were lost. Recall, neurons in your brain generally DO
>NOT regenerate, so once they're gone....Sorry if I sound like a cop, I'm
>not. Although it is true that no precise studies have been done in humans, I
>wouldn't recommend X for the time being.

I am going to take hunks from the December '92 issue of Gnosis in an article
called "Ecstasy Revisited" by Bruce Eisner.  He also has a book called
_Ecstasy:__The_MDMA_Story (Berkeley CA: Ronin Publishing, 1989).  Any
typographic errors are mine.  Hopefully this falls under fair use rules, this
is kinda educational use.

p. 57: 3rd and 4th paragraphs, 1st column
  The quesiton of MDMA's neutotoxicity was first raised in 1985, when George
Ricarte and Charles Shuster at the University of Chicago performed an
experiment in which rats were intravenously given very high doses (ten times
the therapeutic does in humans) of MDA, a drug similar to MDMA, at four-hour
intervals for two days.  Changes were noted in the terminals were serotonin
interfaced with brain neurons.  [text elided]
  Later, Ricarte and, in a separate study, Dr. Stephan Peroutka of Stanford
University both administered spinal taps to humans in the hope that their
results might inidcate whether the effects noted in rats with altered
serotonin terminals might lead to lowered levels of serotonin in the brains
of people.  They examined human spinal fluid for levels of the serotonin
metabolite 5HIAA.  Peroutka's study showed no difference between the MDMA
users and the contrl groups.  Ricarte's experiment showed lowered serotonin
in the MDMA group, but the study was crticized because it used people with
back pain as the control group, and the fact that they had pain could itself
have led to the differences discovered.  This study is now being repeated
with improved methodology.  But so far no solid scientific conclusions can be
drawn from these spinal tap studies.

p. 57:  5th and 6th paragraphs, 2nd column
  Another important point is that lowered serotonin levels produce no known
behavioural changes in humans.  One study showed very slight changes in
performances in rats on one of many tests given to them after huge and
repeated doses of MDMA produced dramatic changes in serotonin levels.  More
important is a recent and still unpublished study by George Ricarte, in which
normal human doses were administered to primates every two weeks for four
months  They showed no evidence of neurotoxicity.
  With millions of people having taken MDMA over a 20-year period, some more
than several hundred times, there has never been a reported case of
MDMA-caused brain damage.  Not one single case.

He then talks about dangers with MDMA for people with cardiac problems and
people dying due to a combination of MDMA, high temperatures, continuous
dancing, and dehydration.

[Switzerland allows certain physicians to use psychedelics on patients.]
p. 58: 2nd paragraph and quote, 2nd column
  Since then, five Swiss physicians have been granted permits to prescribe
psychedelics, and many more have been trained and expect to be granted
permits soon.  These physicians administer MDMA and other mind-altering drugs
to patients in the course of therapy, usually in group settings.  Dr. Samuel
Eidmer, M.D., the administrator of the project, reports:

    In our work with MDMA in psychotherapy so far, we have not observed
    any negative effects, either of a psychological or physical kind.
    The tremendous usefulness in healing severe psychological
    disturbances outweighs the occasional stress to the organism though
    these substances.  [text elided]
      The suspicion of possible toxicity to the nervous system, which had
    been considered a possible side effect of MDMA, was not substantiated
    by our use of a therapeutic dosage of this substance.  This finding,
    confirmed by recent scientific research not yet published, by George
    Ricarte, USA:  Following the treatment of primates with therapeutic
    dosages, no damaging effects to the nervous system were observed.

    the quote goes on to say that MDMA should be "made available on a
    broader scale" and should not be on Schedule 1.

This has multiple places that say Ecstasy/X/MDMA is not a neurotoxin.  Do you
have references that rebuke what I heavily quoted above?

Think free!
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