Ecstasy

Ecstasy

Ananova :



Research linking ecstasy to brain damage 'flawed'

Scientific evidence that ecstasy damages the brain is fundamentally flawed and has misled politicians and the public, a report claims.

An inquiry by New Scientist magazine concluded that many of the findings published in respected journals cannot be trusted.

Similar uncertainty surrounds evidence that ecstasy impairs mental performance, according to New Scientist. In the majority of tests of mental agility, ecstasy users performed as well as non-users.

Marc Laruelle, an expert on brain scanning at Columbia University, New York City, said: "All the papers have very significant scientific limitations that make me uneasy."

He pointed out that the chemical probes used in ecstasy brain scans do not always stick solely to serotonin transporters.

Psychologist Andrew Parrott, of the University of East London, found ecstasy users outperformed non-users in tests requiring them to rotate complex shapes in their mind's eye.

Ecstasy users did perform worse when learning new verbal information. But according to Mr Parrott their performance still lay well within the range of what counts as normal.

At the centre of the controversy are scans which allegedly show that ecstasy destroys nerve cells involved in the production and transport of serotonin, a vital brain chemical.

Serotonin allows neurons to communicate with each other across nerve connections called synapses. It is involved in a wide range of functions including memory, sleep, sex, appetite, and primarily, mood.

In an editorial, the magazine said: "Our investigation suggests the experiments are so irretrievably flawed that the scientific community risks haemorrhaging credibility if it continues to let them inform public policy."

New Scientist says it is an open secret that some researchers who failed to find impairment in ecstasy users had trouble getting their findings published. The Lancet medical journal has declined to comment on the report.

Story filed: 19:03 Wednesday 17th April 2002

well i can probably proove research right

stop fooling yourselves!!

i do far more damage to myself with alcohol anyway

RANT

Personally, I think the statement simply highlight's just how little is actually known about drugs and their effects.
It would be easy to look at what it says and conclude that drug use is safe as there is no proof that it isn't, which would be stupid. I think it's amazing, considering how widespread drug use is in all walks of life, that after so many years of drug 'cultures' etc. whatever you wanna call it that so little is known.

The whole top and bottom of all this, and I don't think I'm out of order in saying so, is that if drugs had absolutley no link with crime - the government wouldn't give a fuck what they do to people, which is the real issue here.

This only hightens the them and us position between the club community and positions of authority.

And yes, the money spent on drug related health problems pales into insignificance compared to booze and nicotine related health problems - The north-east having far and away the highest cases of both in the UK.

P.S. There's an election coming soon, how many of the people up for election would support your issues? Make them work for ya vote

I read an interesting article once that suggested that governments are more than happy for all the young people to be taking drugs, which is why they don't really make that big an effort to stop it. After all, it keeps everyone nice and sedated an apathetic. Has there ever been such a politically apathetic generation? Everyone thinks they are being young rebellious and 'knocking the system', when all they are doing is playing into the hands of the ruling elite by being too battered to do anything about it.

Here ends the political comment!

to be honest i think BOB is rite, if the government really wnated to stop it they could, i mean look at the state ppl get themselves in at north, they know its happening and so do we. Personally (and i know that this would never happen) ecstacy will never be legalised until a senior cabinet minister drops and lets on how nice it is. its true that the government couldnt really give a fuck what it does to ppls health, i mean do they try to stop pplsmoking? a lil advert on a packet doesnt stop u, but look at the many millions that smoking related diseases costs the NHS.
but then thats government for ya aint it

actually i retract my comment about north, i think thats more of other things than ecstacy. sorry.

I think you've all taken far too many drugs and have super dooper paranoia

I think the current government are being very sensible about drug use in todays society... Yesterday my sister got a very factual and unbiased factsheet about drugs in the post off the BBC... Its only mentioning of death on E was overheating or dsehydration, gone are the days of the killer pills or the sippery slope to heroin addiction. If you compare that to america's zero tolerance policy - it speaks volumes.

Our current government recognises the dangers of drugs and that todays society will never accept the legalisation fo most of them, but at the same time it also recognises they wont go away so its far better to support drug use in a constructive way rather than locking us all up as criminals. Theres still a huge way to go but I personally think the government is on the right track.. They've recognised that drug use will never go away and they're attempting to educate now rather than discipline.

This isn't part of a government plot to turn us all into pod people.

It was an article I read, not necessarily my point of view! It does appeal when I'm in a 'conspiracy theory' mood though.

I'm just looking for an arguement

Sorry - too battered on Migraleve at the moment to put up much of a fight. Bastard migraine ruined my birthday as I was in bed for most of the afternoon! Will more than make up for it on Sunday though.

awwww poor B.O.B
will defo make up 4 it on sonday!!!
feel better

hasnt sheffield got the highest drug problem but the lowest crime problem in the country or summit???-think i read that!!

although boro must have the highest proportion of smackheads and crime!!

ive also noticed a massive change in people since they started, some look a little more fragile now, and have less energy etc

well there was a time i would have came on a post like this and properly ranted away for about an hour...but these days i cant be arsed....hmmmm

i remember reading government issue posters about the dangers of ecstacy when i was young and laughing my tits off with my friends cus most of them said how it would make you anxious and depressed etc...in the honeymoon period of pill taking your like...*titter* but it makes you the opposite of that right?

well look at me now....i have a prescription sheet as long as my arm for anti-depressants...tranquillisers...beta blockers cause my hearts gone ticky, just about every warning they give you in the txt books for PSE at school, only theres no evidence to proove that it was the ecstacy that caused it all

but then again, even if there was research blah blah ad it was all legalised it would probably come with a packet saying DO NOT TAKE MORE THAN 10 PER EVENING....and people would still end up a mess

(reads this back and decides to blame ecstacy for her not being able to put together a nicely constructed thing...erm erm whats the word....ah well, u get my point)

p.s B.O.B i suffer from migraine too...its awful isnt it

lmfao!!! although not v.funny it is true when u walk down that high st fookn hell!!

cant really comment much on all this drug malarky but must say peeps who do xtc say they have changed and there is no question that these lil tings are bad for us has research been done on like peeps who used to do them when they were our age ??? caiuse would reallly like to know how peeps brains are going to be when there older mine as well due to large doses of cider which surley cant be good for me!!

there was a rumour going round when i was at school that if you drank cider it pickled your brain....beleive me ooooh how i tried!! as soon as i heard that i went out n bought a 3 litre bottle of old english....maybe thats why im a mess after all!?

I think the govenment's attitude towards drugs has changed (or maybe it's just the government that's changed!), but unfortunately a lot of the damage is done and no matter how well informed kids are today we're still stuck with an older generation who's heads are filled with our pevious government and the press' propeganda. I think the image of the "killer e" is still with us...well certainly that's my mam's perception.

And no all that cider can't be good for you!

looks like the advice i got a while ago of mammy telling me todrink less of the auwful cider was good advice after all oh well like a proper whino i am 20/20 is the next inevitable step!!

ROFLMAO!!!!
i never had 20/20 in ageeeeeeees!!!!

Me and my flatmate were talking about this last night, and it makes me really annoyed. I dont think the government does enough to inform us about themselves, none of the parties do, so i cant make an informed vote for the party which i most agree with! Labour got back into power with the lowest turn out of voters in years (not sure of how many)! I think they need to get their arses into gear and sort something out!