Common Sense for Drug Policy did run a public service ad on ecstasy some time ago, the dangers haven’t changed.
Ecstasy, or ‘Molly’ as it’s now being called, can cause hyperthermia – extreme overheating. That’s why it’s so important to stay hydrated. Even then, the conditions in which people use ecstasy can make a difference: if a person is in the middle of a large crowd of people dancing and sweating, they face a greater risk than if they were at home or in some other safer environment.
Deaths can occur for other reasons as well, for instance if the user has an underlying heart condition – even among young people. Back when we did that ad all of the researchers acknowledged this problem, yet it was difficult to impossible to find a legitimate research article that included that sort of harm reduction advice. (It’s only been in the last few years that including the phrase ‘harm reduction’ or acknowledging that there are less dangerous ways to use the drug stopped being the kiss of death in academic and government-funded research.) In the ad, we ended up saying that people with heart conditions should avoid ecstasy yet we were unable to provide a source for that advice. That fact item is still in the section.
The person with whom Kevin is working on other matters, Emanuel Sferos from DanceSafe, co-wrote a piece a few months ago responding to some of the misinformation that’s being put out in the media.
I’m going over it now for material and links to original sources to improve the ecstasy section. It will be improved shortly.
