"Scientists have expressed strong criticism of a new report about MDMA to be published in the journal Science on September 27. The primate study, by Dr. George Ricaurte and colleagues, reports that MDMA - or Ecstasy - damages dopamine neurons in the brain, and suggests that such damage indicates that MDMA may cause Parkinson's disease in humans.
"Critics, pointing to questionable assumptions in Dr. Ricaurte's report, say it suggests no such thing. And they express concern about the hysteria often generated by exaggerated estimates of drug-related harms - which, they say, can hinder the efforts of parents and teachers to establish open, honest dialogue with young people about drug use.
"Dr. Juan Sanchez-Ramos, Ellis Professor of Neurology, University of South Florida, and an expert in Parkinson's and dopaminergic neurotoxicity, said, "The multiple dose regimen of injected MDMA administered by Dr. Ricaurte to primates does not simulate human exposure, does not cause cell death, and does not predict anything about human vulnerability to Parkinson's as a result of MDMA. In fact, Dr. Ricaurte's study shows that it is far easier to kill whole animals than to kill neurons." [...]
"Scientists pointed to several important flaws in the Science report:
"1) The doses administered are not representative of human doses [...]
2) Data from actual human studies shows no dopamine reductions from MDMA [...]
3) There is no proven link between Parkinson's and amphetamine or methamphetamine [...]
"Risk/Benefit Analysis for MDMA/PTSD Psychotherapy Research
"The FDA has approved a study into the use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). [...] According to Rick Doblin, Ph.D., [...] "It has taken 17 years since MDMA was made illegal in 1985 before a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the therapeutic use of MDMA has been approved by the FDA. During that time, over 260 people worldwide have already been administered MDMA in clinical research studies focused on evaluating various aspects of the safety of MDMA, without demonstrating evidence of harm to those human subjects. [...]""
Critics?....Who are they?. Do they have a similarly accomplished medical background? Do they have any medical background?
Thalidomid was also claimed by many to be harmless and a drug to "really help" young women overcome morning sickness. It resulted in many thousands of deformed babies mostly in Europe.
Ecstasy? 