New study finds no cognitive impairment among ecstasy users

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villian

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The drug known as ecstasy has been used by 12 million people in the United States alone and millions more worldwide. Past research has suggested that ecstasy users perform worse than nonusers on some tests of mental ability. But there are concerns that the methods used to conduct that research were flawed, and the experiments overstated the cognitive differences between ecstasy users and nonusers.

In response to those concerns, a team of researchers has conducted one of the largest studies ever undertaken to re-examine the cognitive effects of ecstasy, funded by a $1.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and published today in the journal Addiction. The study was specifically designed to minimize the methodological limitations of earlier research.
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read more @ http://www.addictionjournal.org/viewpressrelease.asp?pr=147
 
So does this mean that ecstasy really is the risk-free, hangover-free, miracle drug that lets young ravers and gamers party all weekend without having to pay the price? Says Halpern, “No. Ecstasy consumption is dangerous: illegally-made pills can contain harmful contaminants, there are no warning labels, there is no medical supervision, and in rare cases people are physically harmed and even die from overdosing.
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Anyone else find it ironic the biggest dangers of MDMA are a direct result of its illegality?
 
Wow i wish stuff like this went on news channels to open peoples eyes
 
Harvard Study Published in Addiction Shows Ecstasy Not Associated with Cognitive Decline

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Feb. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the journal Addiction published online the results of a neuroscience study finding no evidence of impaired cognitive performance in users of Ecstasy, the street name for the chemical known as MDMA.

The study, conducted by researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital, improves on earlier studies in several ways. It used subjects who used few or no other drugs or alcohol, compared those subjects to others from the same all-night dance community who had not used Ecstasy, performed complete psychiatric assessments, and utilized hair analysis and other drug testing procedures.

Since previous studies of the neurocognitive effects of Ecstasy did not address these issues, their reports of damage to memory, strategic planning, and other cognitive tasks may have been due to confounded study design rather than to Ecstasy itself.

The study was funded for five years by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and was based on pilot data collected with the assistance of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

The concept for this research was suggested by Ben Stokes, Ph.D., now a postdoctoral astrophysicist at the University of Utah. Stokes wrote to MAPS concerned that the absence of subjects who had taken Ecstasy but not other drugs was a critical methodological flaw in studies of the effects of Ecstasy on neurocognition. Stokes proposed that MAPS conduct a study in a Utah population whose drug use had been almost exclusively limited to Ecstasy. ...
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http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...ociated-with-cognitive-decline-116226594.html

I've enjoyed this read a bit more than the one posted in the addictionjournal.
 
villian said:
Anyone else find it ironic the biggest dangers of MDMA are a direct result of its illegality?
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not at all. Our lawmakers even use this same logic to support the drug laws. "It is dangerous because it is illegal." Somewhere on this forum there's a story where the US drug tzar says this very thing about weed.

New Study Finds Cognitive Impairment Among Drug Tzars:
 
Studies may show this, but users have directly mentioned that they have had problems. No, they are not a replacement for statistics, but still, saying no problems at all can't be true.

From what I understand the neurotoxicity problem that was funded in a study was that they used meth instead, but I would still expect some problems from the usage of Ecstasy. I might be alluding shitty lifestyles to the usage, but personally I have had a little problem, not permanent but still.
 
Issac Sinclair said:
Studies may show this, but users have directly mentioned that they have had problems. No, they are not a replacement for statistics, but still, saying no problems at all can't be true.

From what I understand the neurotoxicity problem that was funded in a study was that they used meth instead, but I would still expect some problems from the usage of Ecstasy. I might be alluding shitty lifestyles to the usage, but personally I have had a little problem, not permanent but still.
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Are there possible negative consequences to using MDMA? of course there are, especially with frequent and/or heavy use.

Does MDMA cause the kind of permanent brain damage, including from a single use, that it is widely believed to by the public? Most likely not.

Studies such as this are an important first step towards a rational discussion of the subject. MDMA, like any drug, carries both risks and benefits. To suggest there is no risk or consequences associated with ecstasy use would be disingenuous at the very least, if not an all out lie.

But, I don't think that's what MAPS is trying to do. MAPS is dedicated to the medicinal/therapeutic applications of psychedelic drugs and marijuana. They are primarily a scientific research organization, not just some pro-drug activists.
 
illegally-made pills can contain harmful contaminants, there are no warning labels, there is no medical supervision, and in rare cases people are physically harmed and even die from overdosing.
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Did that really need to be in the article, people around the world who've never used drugs are not smart when it comes to them, but I think they realize that illegal drugs don't come with ingredient listings, warning labels or doctors supervising the users......that's what makes them illegal.....
 
mmkay, i like MDMA a lot myself..but NO impairment from doing it?
i mean all you need to do is look at MasterSplinter or DXMkid420 and youll understand why you shouldnt be nomin molly/rolls that often..
 
LSDMDMA&9353335 said:
mmkay, i like MDMA a lot myself..but NO impairment from doing it?
i mean all you need to do is look at MasterSplinter or DXMkid420 and youll understand why you shouldnt be nomin molly/rolls that often..
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Nothing is good/healthy in excess.
 
But mah main man badman, you knowz from PD social that i like to nom molly occasionally, hell i parachuted some probably 10 mins ago...but i just dont really berieve that
MDA is a known neurotoxin, isnt it, so wouldnt MDMA also be a neurotoxin, just to a lesser degree?
 
The organization that did this study (MAPS) is a few blocks away from my apartment. Hmm... I should go apply.
 
LSDMDMA&9353343 said:
But mah main man badman, you knowz from PD social that i like to nom molly occasionally, hell i parachuted some probably 10 mins ago...but i just dont really berieve that
MDA is a known neurotoxin, isnt it, so wouldnt MDMA also be a neurotoxin, just to a lesser degree?
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No one said MDMA wasn't neurotoxic.. the study showed MDMA doesn't impair cognition not that it risk free.

Of course if you eat a shit load of rolls it will likely have negative effects.
 
LSDMDMA&9353335 said:
mmkay, i like MDMA a lot myself..but NO impairment from doing it?
i mean all you need to do is look at MasterSplinter or DXMkid420 and youll understand why you shouldnt be nomin molly/rolls that often..
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Teehee, I forgot who else was really stupid, it was Alprazolam(something).

I would allude it to a drop of water in the sea. Probably not harmless, but probably not as terrible as others think.

Its too sedating to keep someone up, so nothing from sleeping too little. I didn't find it that amazing, so I didn't do more. I should do more though, just because I know that my roll wasn't that great.
 
This article is a step down the road to some accurate information about Ecstasy being in the public domain rather than urban myths. At least the truth is out there if people look hard enough.

It's going to be difficult for people to accept the truth after so long believing bullshit tho. I brought this up on the Ecstasy discussion board and the moderator closed the thread because:

I don't care what the article says tbph.
Damage from using MDMA is real and anyone that has anything else to say about it can shut up.
 
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