Pubdate: Fri, 15 Jun 2012
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2012 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Jesse Kline
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

REGULATE MDMA, REDUCE HARM

Contaminated Street Ecstasy More Dangerous

Tucked within industrial districts on the outskirts of downtown 
Vancouver lie innocuous-looking warehouses that, on any given 
weekend, play home to the city's vibrant underground party scene.

Inside an array of stimuli tingle the senses: The floors reverberate 
with the blare of electronic music; lights flash; and the air becomes 
sticky and pungent as a mass of people dance until the wee hours of 
the morning.

One thing that distinguishes the underground scene from mainstream 
clubs is the distinct lack of alcohol at most events: It is often 
easier to buy ecstasy than it is to find beer.

Unfortunately, consumers of that drug have no way of knowing what 
exactly they're getting.

"Most of the samples of what is passed off as MDMA [the original 
chemical used in ecstasy] on the street is of really unknown quality, 
unknown purity, unknown dose and is almost guaranteed to be 
contaminated with a variety of other drugs like PCP, ketamine or 
methamphetamines. So it's potentially dangerous," said Dr. Perry 
Kendall, B.C.'s Provincial Health Officer. Indeed, at least 16 people 
have died over the past year in Western Canada from a tainted batch 
of ecstasy that was laced with a deadly chemical known as PMMA.

Dr. Kendall caused quite a stir when he was reported on Thursday as 
saying that taking ecstasy can be done in a safe manner, and that it 
should be legalized and distributed by the government. Later in the 
day, he told a TV news crew he was "not advocating for the 
legalization of ecstasy or its distribution from government liquor 
store-type outlets," but that he does believe the drug is safe, when 
it's not mixed with other substances.

The assertions that MDMA - the entirely pure form of ecstasy - is 
relatively safe, are backed up by a growing body of evidence. A 2010 
study published in The Lancet medical journal, written by David Nutt, 
the former chairman of the U.K. Advisory Council on the Misuse of 
Drugs, found that pure ecstasy is much less harmful than many other 
narcotics. Out of 20 substances, alcohol was found to be the most 
harmful, while MDMA ranked 17th.

Another study in the journal Addiction compared the cognitive 
functions of ecstasy users to non-users and "failed to demonstrate 
marked residual cognitive effects in ecstasy users." Likewise, a 
study conducted by The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic 
Studies has given the drug to over 500 people, without any serious 
health effects.

Still, Canadian police blocking the import and manufacture of illegal 
MDMA and its ingredients means producers have had to resort to more 
dangerous ecstasy cocktails. And the problem for those attending 
after-hours parties in Vancouver, and other recreational drug users 
across the country, is they have no way of knowing if the pills 
they're buying are the safe kind or the deadly kind. It's too bad Dr. 
Kendall reversed his stance on legalization, because allowing the 
product to be produced and sold out in the open would be much safer 
than the current situation.

Our experience with illegal narcotics mirrors many of the unintended 
consequences that were seen during the Prohibition era. During that 
time, alcohol became much more potent, too - why sell beer, when hard 
liquor is stronger, and the punishment is the same? - while many 
people ended up dying from bad batches of moonshine. (Those who 
didn't just got really drunk.)

Today, a majority of the harm that comes from illicit drugs is due to 
the fact that these substances remain illegal. Gang violence is a big 
problem in many Canadian cities, and the ecstasy-related deaths that 
have been in the news as of late never would have happened in a 
regulated environment.

When an outbreak of listeriosis was found at a Maple Leaf Foods plant 
in 2008, the company suffered a considerable loss of business. When 
it suspected another problem with its food in 2009, it promptly 
issued a voluntary recall of the product.

These same free market forces do not work so well when the product in 
question is traded on the black market. We don't know where the 
tainted ecstasy that recently popped up, with deadly consequences, in 
Western Canada was originally produced, because those who made it are 
forced to operate underground. Dealers often have no way of knowing 
whether the product they resell is dangerous, and customers cannot 
pick and choose from a variety of manufacturers to find the best, and 
safest, product.

MDMA has been illegal in Canada since 1976, but that has hardly 
stopped people from using ecstasy. It even appears to be growing in 
popularity. Instead of imposing harsher restrictions on the 
substance, as the federal Tories have done, governments should think 
about the words of Dr. Kendall and look at ways to reduce harm by 
allowing the drug to be produced and sold in a safe, regulated environment.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom