Blame the Drug War, not MDMA, for the Ecstasy Tragedy

, by Adam Hurter, Class of 2002

The hospitalization of many Wesleyan students due to taking “ecstasy” pills is a tragedy. As a founder of Wesleyan Students For Sensible Drug Policy back in 1999 and a lifelong researcher into drug policy issues, I must note that whatever the students took, it was not MDMA. MDMA is a relatively very safe drug, once which I’ve taken and benefitted from spiritually many dozens of times myself, and which is currently being studied as a treatment for people with sever post-traumatic stress disorder.

Check out the web site www.maps.org for information on scientific studies into the medical uses of MDMA. The problems come, however, because the drug is criminalized and therefore people buying street “ecstasy” pills have no idea what they’re actually taking, until they know enough to buy a test kit and test it. So the problem is the failed “War on Drugs.” A better model would be to regulate psychedelic drugs like MDMA, just as many states are regulating marijuana, so that consumers know exactly what they’re getting. The drug prohibition model we’re currently in is by far the most dangerous one.

Furthermore, pure MDMA does have a lot of value as a medicine. It was criminalized in 1983 by the DEA, which overruled a judge’s recommendation to not criminalize it, since it has medicinal value and is not very dangerous. British drug researcher Dr. David Nutt determined that MDMA was the eighteenth most dangerous drug, far below alcohol, with extremely few deaths attributed to it. It’s too bad that this reality is lost amongst the stories of people being hospitalized for taking dirty ecstasy pills of unknown composition.

  • too soon

    • freddy

      too late

      • JG

        too·ché

  • NSM Major, Class of 2014

    Dr. Nutt’s study, which you cite in this opinion piece, combined rankings for drugs harmful to individuals with rankings for drugs harmful to society in order to come up with his generalized “Dangerous Drug” rankings. I agree with part of what you’re saying – MDMA is not particularly harmful to society, so it doesn’t make a ton of sense to send users to jail; rather, users who need it should be given appropriate mental health services. Plus, the War on Drugs is an extremely problematic policy, and there is no evidence basis that it does anything except make the supposed problem worse.

    However, your assertion that MDMA is not harmful to individuals consuming it is incorrect. MDMA can be extremely physically dangerous, especially when taken with other drugs such as alcohol (very common on college campuses) or when taken in high doses (as with many synthetic drugs, it can be difficult to tell how much you’re taking). Dr. Nutt gives MDMA/ecstasy a relatively high score in terms of “harm to individuals,” and he even states in his article, “Finally, we should note that a low score in our assessment does not mean the drug is not harmful, since all drugs can be harmful under specific circumstances.”

    This is not even going into the developmental and emotional effects of MDMA, which, as a psychedelic drug, can trigger depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia in at risk individuals at a time point when their brains are going through a transition from puberty to adulthood. When you consume even the purest MDMA for the first time, there is no way to determine whether your life will continue to be just fine, or is altered irreparably., unless you’ve had your genome sequenced or your family history closely very examined.
    This is a critical time for twenty-somethings developmentally, and even individuals who have no genetic risk for mood disorders may develop other neuropsycho disorders later in life. Very little to nothing is known about the effects of MDMA later in life, because it is such a new drug, and epidemiological studies on the topic are difficult to conduct.

    Bottom line: There are risks associated with taking even “pure” MDMA. Individuals considering consuming this substance for recreational use should proceed with extreme caution.
    (P.S. Legalize weed. That stuff is probably totally fine.)

    • Stoned Wes;eyan Student

      “Let the meat cake” – I say. Wait… what the fuck is meat cake? Lol I’m so high right now.

    • WesAlum

      Your comment, as thoughtful as it is, fails to acknowledge that these concerns are still the very same concerns surrounding legal prescription drugs. On every prescription bottle and doctor’s recommendation, consumers are informed of what is safe and not safe about the drug they are taking, how to not operate a vehicle or consume with alcohol, and how family history should be consulted before even the prescription itself.

      I think the author is trying to point out that a thoughtful, careful, and medically sound approach to drug policy–especially with drugs that are considered harmful by the War on Drugs–would lead to fewer instances of injury. The regulation of controlled substances may mean standardization of quality and content, so that if injury does occur, a medical professional will know how to approach the situation.

      Currently, the doctors and investigators are still unable to determine exact composition of the drug that sent so many of our community members to the hospital. Two are still not well. It was due to a shameful and irresponsible action of some of our own that sent these student to hospital, for sure. But it is careful of us to acknowledge that a more sensible drug policy could have been one of the many, many steps in preventing this very saddening event.

    • hunkE

      “However, your assertion that MDMA is not harmful to individuals consuming it is incorrect.”

      Unfortunately, for your argument, the author never made this assertion.

      “When you consume even the purest [peanut] for the first time, there is no way to determine whether your life will continue to be just fine, or is altered irreparably., unless you’ve had your genome sequenced or your family history closely very examined.”

      See what I just did there? Hopefully the point I’m trying to make isn’t lost on you. There are risks involved with putting anything into your body.

    • damassi

      Further, the Journal of Psychopharmacology just published this in its March issue: “Psychedelics not linked to mental health problems or suicidal behavior: A population study”: http://jop.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/02/25/0269881114568039.abstract
      (And overview: http://reset.me/study/study-no-link-psychedelics-mental-health-disorders/)

      “We failed to find any associations between lifetime use of psychedelics and past year serious psychological distress, receiving or needing mental health treatment, depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts or behavior in the past year,” the study concludes. “Rather, lifetime use of psychedelics was associated with decreased inpatient psychiatric treatment.”

      Everything about this battle is public education; spread the news.

  • NSM Major, Class of 2014

    Dr. Nutt’s study, which you cite in this opinion piece, combined rankings for drugs harmful to individuals with rankings for drugs harmful to society in order to come up with his generalized “Dangerous Drug” rankings. I agree with part of what you’re saying – MDMA is not particularly harmful to society, so it doesn’t make a ton of sense to send users to jail; rather, users who need it should be given appropriate mental health services. Plus, the War on Drugs is an extremely problematic policy, and there is no evidence basis that it does anything except make the supposed problem worse.

    However, your assertion that MDMA is not harmful to individuals consuming it is incorrect. MDMA can be extremely physically dangerous, especially when taken with other drugs such as alcohol (very common on college campuses) or when taken in high doses (as with many synthetic drugs, it can be difficult to tell how much you’re taking). Dr. Nutt gives MDMA/ecstasy a relatively high score in terms of “harm to individuals,” and he even states in his article, “Finally, we should note that a low score in our assessment does not mean the drug is not harmful, since all drugs can be harmful under specific circumstances.”

    This is not even going into the developmental and emotional effects of MDMA, which, as a psychedelic drug, can trigger depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia in at risk individuals at a time point when their brains are going through a transition from puberty to adulthood. When you consume even the purest MDMA for the first time, there is no way to determine whether your life will continue to be just fine, or is altered irreparably., unless you’ve had your genome sequenced or your family history closely very examined.
    This is a critical time for twenty-somethings developmentally, and even individuals who have no genetic risk for mood disorders may develop other neuropsycho disorders later in life. Very little to nothing is known about the effects of MDMA later in life, because it is such a new drug, and epidemiological studies on the topic are difficult to conduct.

    Bottom line: There are risks associated with taking even “pure” MDMA. Individuals considering consuming this substance for recreational use should proceed with extreme caution.
    (P.S. Legalize weed. That stuff is probably totally fine.)

  • Anonymous

    This upcoming film will focus on this issue. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mdma-the-movie

  • JG

    I blame frats.

    • k.d. lang’s mangina

      I blame white male privilege and the prison industrial complex.

  • Guest User

    MDMA even in amounts as small as one pill per month over a year has been demonstrated to reduce the mass of the cerebellum by 10% and of the white matter portion by 4%. The symptoms experienced can resemble dementia in terms of its effect on memory.

    • DavidL

      What’s your source? If this is true, Wesleyan is populated by an even greater collection of fools than is already apparent.

    • damassi

      Source please, and before you post please fact-check.

  • Wise King

    In loco parentis is dead and The Campus is unsafe. Wesleyan needs to enforce drug laws and expel and fully prosecute the dealers. The parents of those injured should certainly sue the school, The Eclectic and any others who hosted the event. This is your man: http://www.bode.com/Attorneys/DouglasEFierberg.html

    • Thomas

      Pathetic and revulsive. This is why lawyers are considered vultures.

      • Wise King

        There is negligent misrepresentation and fraud here. The University and the Eclectic websites are promotional. The negatives are hidden. Adults are entitled to information so they can take measures to protect themselves. The school was aware of dangerous drug abuse and dealing on campus and was surely aware that The Eclectic had become a generator of drug fueled raves. Appropriate measures were simply not taken. Known dealers were neither prosecuted nor suspended. That negligence contributed to this episode.
        Negligence could have led to multiple deaths on the Wesleyan campus. It is not vulture like to take measures to prevent death.

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