[Cicero]

I wouldn't rush out and start taking Ecstasy. This retraction doesn't prove it's harmless. It only admits that the experiment was screwed up.

Chances are, it's as dangerous as most people assumed before the experiment was originally announced. That's why you keep reading news stories about people dying from it.

[toothless]

"I wouldn't rush out and start taking Ecstasy. "

Whew, thanks for the warning!

[jayef]

Uh, not exactly. Most of the new stories you read are just as politically motivated as these hacks were. As with this experiment, most of the deaths you read about are not due to ecstasy (MDMA). Most of the deaths you read about are due to a dangerous coctail of alcohol and DXM. These are not ecstasy deaths. Is ecstasy harmless? Like most intoxicants, the answer is no. There are things you can do to mitigate neurotoxicity and as with any intoxicant, moderation is usually the best practice.

[DBrow]

"That's why you keep reading news stories about people dying from it."

Some do die from MDMA, but it is probably the easier-to-make PMA that is the culprit. This acts a little like MDMA at 60 mg or so, but if you take more your body temp gets way too high and you run the risk of death. People expecting MDMA effects are likely to re-dose to get the roll going, and doom themselves unknowingly to a 109 fever or better. To a reporter though, the difference between PMA or PMMA and MDMA is unimportant.

You also have to consider that outside a clinic, you rarely have a clue what other goodies the dead roller was eating- like EtOH and DXM as mentioned above, or 2-CT-7, or nitrous, or methamphetamine.

Does not matter in practical terms- someone ate some pills and died.

BTW it is easier to make because the starting material is not as tightly controlled as is the start material for MDMA.

[adam_az]

Most "ecstasy" deaths are really from poly-drug abuse, contaminated illegal drugs, or hyperthermia (overheating) in crowded warehouse dancehalls.