Minimising Harm
Minimising Harm
Added By: mikem
Stargate International, an organisation committed to minimising harm associated with illegal drug use, is currently running a private, small-scale trial of safer, non-therapeutic legal alternatives to ecstasy.
The trial product, called Ease, is being trialed as a legal alternative to ecstasy, without the serious adverse side effects associated with street ecstasy. It is not available in any shops, is restricted to people over 21 and is being trialed only as a safer alternative for people who might otherwise use street ecstasy.
Stargate International Founder, Matt Bowden, said since a member of his family was one of the few New Zealanders to die as a result of taking ecstasy, that he was committed to developing safer, legal alternatives to prevent further drug-related deaths.
“Human beings have taken substances that affect the way they feel since the beginning of time, and they always will. The challenge we all face is to make this behaviour as safe as possible, and this is what this trial is all about.”
Mr Bowden said New Zealanders were becoming more realistic about drug use with the realisation that it was widespread across all sectors of society. He said the public was becoming less interested in harsh punishment of recreational drug users and more concerned with ensuring their safety.
“Recreational drug use in New Zealand is however becoming a public health issue. The community is much less interested now in seeing people imprisoned, punished or stigmatized for recreational drug use, and no longer judges people for it,” he said.
“The challenge for us all now is on how to keep people safe. You could take the approach of trying to ban everything that people might choose to use and enjoy but never, anywhere in the world, has this been successful at stopping the use of banned substances, or at reducing their harm,” he said.
Mr Bowden said “Ecstasy has a number of neuro-toxic properties which can damage the brain, however animal studies suggest that Ease does not share the mechanism by which brain damage and addictive effects are thought to be produced, so Ease should have considerably less potential for harm than ecstasy.”
“Through our designerpills.com website and selected events Stargate is offering this new product on a clinical trial basis to people who might otherwise use ecstasy. It is tightly controlled, is under patent, cannot be sold in any shops, is restricted to people over the age of 21 and is designed as a ‘gateway off’ ecstasy use. Participants in the trial are assessed for further treatment needs.
“We have taken advice on the legality of these trials, and are strictly enforcing best practice safety procedures.”
“This is an innovative, yet commonsense approach to minimising the harm of illegal drug use. While this is just a trial, I believe it has real potential to save lives and keep people safe,” said Mr Bowden.
“If we can develop safer, legal alternatives to these drugs then we are keeping people safe and alive, and dealing a blow to organized crime.
“This is what this trial is all about. I expect it to be well supported by people with the best interests of the community at heart.”
Matt Bowden
[dealer's links removed --fr]
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