poledriver
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2005
- Messages
- 11,543
Call to make ecstasy legal and sell it at pharmacies
Australians should be able to buy a pure form of the drug ecstasy from their local pharmacy to curtail the harm caused by contaminated blackmarket pills, a Melbourne pharmacist and a leading doctor say.
Thousands of people are estimated to use the illegal drug, MDMA, also known as ecstasy, every week because of its tendency to cause feelings of happiness, empathy, intimacy, and reduced anxiety.
But Melbourne pharmacist Joshua Donelly and leading doctor Professor David Penington said many Australians taking the drug were probably swallowing contaminated versions that put them at greater risk of harm because it was manufactured illegally with no quality control.
To reduce this harm, the pair said the Australian government should legalise the drug, and regulate its production and sale through pharmacies, so users can access a safer, pure dose of the drug with advance discussion about the risks. This would allow pharmacists to advise people at high risk of harm, such as those being treated for a psychiatric illness or heart problems, to avoid the drug.
In an article published in the Journal of Law and Medicine, Mr Donelly said although no drug was completely risk-free, compared to other drugs MDMA caused "negligible" harm to users and people around them.
His assertion comes after Britain's Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs in 2010 ranked MDMA 17th – far behind tobacco at 6th and alcohol at 1st – on a list of 20 drugs according to the harm they caused. It also follows the British government's former top drug adviser, Professor David Nutt, saying that taking MDMA was likely to be safer than horse riding.
While the Australian government says it has no plans to legalise MDMA and that using the drug is associated with anxiety, irritability, paranoia, vomiting, overheating, high blood pressure, fits, depression and suicidal ideation, Mr Donelly said there was unreliable scientific evidence to prove the drug caused considerable serious or long-lasting adverse effects.
Most research on the drug had focused on people taking illegal ecstasy pills, not pure MDMA, and was based on self-reporting that did not take into account confounding factors such as use of multiple drugs. There was little evidence MDMA caused dependence or made users violent, he said.
The drug was being tested overseas on people with post-traumatic stress disorder, and it was likely to provide "social benefits for many people and a positive effect on their quality of life", he said.
However, he did acknowledge that it might cause some lost productivity while people were "coming down" from its effects on Monday mornings.
Professor Penington, who is well known for his work combating HIV and AIDS in Australia, said prohibition did nothing to reduce the damage of illicit drugs, but was increasing it.
"Australians are one of the highest consumers of MDMA in the world, yet we resolutely resist exploring the fact that most of the uncommon ill consequences of its use arise from impurities in illicitly manufactured drug and the 'illicit', uncontrolled circumstances of its use," he said.
Matthew Frei, head of clinical services at Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, supported the concept of approaching drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal one, and said in its purest form MDMA would not be as harmful as other drugs such as alcohol. But it would still carry some risks to users "because all drugs are associated with some level of risk", he said.
"It's certainly rare that you see someone whose primary drug of addiction is MDMA," he said.
President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Joe Demarte said the drug was illegal to protect people from its potential harms. A lot more research would need to be done to show the drug was safe for regulated use.
"Someone has to produce evidence that it's safe … You'd have to run proper clinical trials," he said.
A Victorian government spokesperson said it had no plans to legalise MDMA.
http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/call...nd-sell-it-at-pharmacies-20150704-gi4vig.html
Australians should be able to buy a pure form of the drug ecstasy from their local pharmacy to curtail the harm caused by contaminated blackmarket pills, a Melbourne pharmacist and a leading doctor say.
Thousands of people are estimated to use the illegal drug, MDMA, also known as ecstasy, every week because of its tendency to cause feelings of happiness, empathy, intimacy, and reduced anxiety.
But Melbourne pharmacist Joshua Donelly and leading doctor Professor David Penington said many Australians taking the drug were probably swallowing contaminated versions that put them at greater risk of harm because it was manufactured illegally with no quality control.
To reduce this harm, the pair said the Australian government should legalise the drug, and regulate its production and sale through pharmacies, so users can access a safer, pure dose of the drug with advance discussion about the risks. This would allow pharmacists to advise people at high risk of harm, such as those being treated for a psychiatric illness or heart problems, to avoid the drug.
In an article published in the Journal of Law and Medicine, Mr Donelly said although no drug was completely risk-free, compared to other drugs MDMA caused "negligible" harm to users and people around them.
His assertion comes after Britain's Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs in 2010 ranked MDMA 17th – far behind tobacco at 6th and alcohol at 1st – on a list of 20 drugs according to the harm they caused. It also follows the British government's former top drug adviser, Professor David Nutt, saying that taking MDMA was likely to be safer than horse riding.
While the Australian government says it has no plans to legalise MDMA and that using the drug is associated with anxiety, irritability, paranoia, vomiting, overheating, high blood pressure, fits, depression and suicidal ideation, Mr Donelly said there was unreliable scientific evidence to prove the drug caused considerable serious or long-lasting adverse effects.
Most research on the drug had focused on people taking illegal ecstasy pills, not pure MDMA, and was based on self-reporting that did not take into account confounding factors such as use of multiple drugs. There was little evidence MDMA caused dependence or made users violent, he said.
The drug was being tested overseas on people with post-traumatic stress disorder, and it was likely to provide "social benefits for many people and a positive effect on their quality of life", he said.
However, he did acknowledge that it might cause some lost productivity while people were "coming down" from its effects on Monday mornings.
Professor Penington, who is well known for his work combating HIV and AIDS in Australia, said prohibition did nothing to reduce the damage of illicit drugs, but was increasing it.
"Australians are one of the highest consumers of MDMA in the world, yet we resolutely resist exploring the fact that most of the uncommon ill consequences of its use arise from impurities in illicitly manufactured drug and the 'illicit', uncontrolled circumstances of its use," he said.
Matthew Frei, head of clinical services at Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, supported the concept of approaching drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal one, and said in its purest form MDMA would not be as harmful as other drugs such as alcohol. But it would still carry some risks to users "because all drugs are associated with some level of risk", he said.
"It's certainly rare that you see someone whose primary drug of addiction is MDMA," he said.
President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Joe Demarte said the drug was illegal to protect people from its potential harms. A lot more research would need to be done to show the drug was safe for regulated use.
"Someone has to produce evidence that it's safe … You'd have to run proper clinical trials," he said.
A Victorian government spokesperson said it had no plans to legalise MDMA.
http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/call...nd-sell-it-at-pharmacies-20150704-gi4vig.html
