Upcoming 1-hour TV special: "Ecstasy Rising" on April 1

Pretty graphic, eh? This could be fairly big. I can't remember the last time I thought a popular press piece on MDMA might actually be accurate and balanced. The show reportedly includes interview material with Doblin (of MAPS.org) and the beloved Alexander Shulgin.

Air time: Next Thursday (April 1), 10 PM Eastern/Pacific time zones, 9 PM in Central/Mountain time zones.

ABC press release:

The rise of Ecstasy is a major event in drug history. If current trends continue, 1.8 million Americans will try Ecstasy for the first time in 2004; only marijuana will attract more new users. Overwhelming, positive word of mouth has made Ecstasy a nightmare for drug controllers. On a special edition of 'Primetime Thursday' Peter Jennings tells the epic story of Ecstasy that has never been heard.

'Peter Jennings Reporting: Ecstasy Rising' airs THURSDAY, APRIL 1st at 10pm EST, 10pm PST, 9pm CST and 9pm MST on the ABC Television Network. In the 1990s, Ecstasy seemed to come out of nowhere to join marijuana, cocaine and heroin as one of the four most widely used illegal drugs in the country. No other drug has ever spread so fast. To halt its spread, the U.S. Government has spent millions of dollars making a dramatic case against Ecstasy as a dangerous drug. The headline of this campaign has been that Ecstasy causes massive brain damage.

But this is a claim based on flawed science, and many Ecstasy users now feel their government has no credibility. What do we know about the real risks of Ecstasy? Has the government been its own worst enemy in the fight to stop the drug's use? Peter Jennings Reporting: 'Ecstasy Rising' takes viewers through the seminal events in this story and introduces all the major players -- from Alexander Shulgin, the famous chemist who was the first person to report the effects of Ecstasy, to Michael Clegg, the Dallas businessman who gave Ecstasy its name and turned it into a recreational drug, to the drug enforcement officer who led the fight to make Ecstasy illegal, to the DJ who brought Rave to America. This special tells the definitive story of how an obscure compound, discovered in 1912 and all but forgotten for over 60 years, became the drug of choice for a generation.

Yay!

This looks interesting !

very positive!

i'm definitely watching this. i hope they have clips of people fucked up on e. i love seeing people messed up.

What channel is it gonna be on?

^^ I wondered the exact same thing.
But when I reread it I think it shows on ABC?
Too bad I can't see that. Hopefully somebody will put it up after the show?
The show should be interesting,

ABC, check your local listings to find out what channel ABC is on in your area.

ooo definitely watching this

Guys, Im in Australia and Im not sure that we will get to see this..............is there any way that someone can tape it so we can download it or something??

Any other way I can get to see it???

This is American yeah??
Im hoping not since Im in Aus but I never heard of CST n MST times so Im guessin theyre american.

i'm sure you'll be able to find it online somewhere. good luck.
i'd like to see the ratings for this show!!
a sure sign as to what influence this drug has had on our culture.

(my friends and i still joke about slipping pills to the members of the "world powers", would make the campaign trail alot more interesting!!

'Marriage rights for everyone!!!'

Hmm, sounds interesting. Pity they aren't broadcasting it in Australia as well

I just got in the game and this makes me feel great to hear that Peter Jennings is doing a report! This is a must see. Dont sleep. Thanks for the post DEA.

This kind of thing is usually supposed to be posted in DITM, but for this, methinks we should make an exception (as long as the other mods agree of course) and leave this up until this Thursday night...Let's see how ABC does on this "special"..The have already noted that the govt's study was flawed, it will be interesting to hear what they have to say about this...

I agree that this should be left here until the end of the week. From what i've heard about this it will present a reasonably fair view -- at least fairer than anything thusfar.

I'll make it sticky until that point, unless any of the mods have any objection.

i would be grateful if someone could cap & xvid-encode it for me

mee too! a divx would be great

TheDEA.org said:

to the DJ who brought Rave to America

Click to expand...

frankie bones.

ABC has a comment board on their web site devoted to the program. It is located here:
http://boards.abcnews.go.com/cgi/abcnews/request.dll?LIST&room=tr_ecstasy

From what I saw, there were a few "drug experts" from abuse programs making claims that MDMA has been proven highly dangerous (probably basing their opinions on faulty data such as the Parkinsons monkey reports). And there are a bunch of "middle-America" people proclaiming their superiority to everyone else because they don't "need" to take drugs. And comments about how it is an "illicit drug" (as though God decided that 8( ) and that people should just stay clear of it.

If anyone would like to contribute to the opinions PLEAZE go to the above link. They'll ask that you register to post, just so you know incase that is an issue for you.