(not a pill report) Ecstasy as a soft drug.

Ive been asigned to do a class presentation on E's
So anyway, I thought I might do it on Ecstasy as a soft drug (law related) I know its been done in Austria? Amsterdam? (Somewhere around there) and I was hoping to get some feedback from you guys. Your thoughts, opinions, additional info. Ive raided ecstasy.org for info, now I need some peoples opinions. Either post them here or please email me. Your replies are greatly appreciated!!
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I'm an idealist...
I dont know where im going but im on my way

Sure, you can have my opinion.
I think you should post a mini questionaire or something and then people can fill it out and you will have all this info that is relevant to your cause.
d.

nooo! no more surveys!!
e as a soft drug? hmmm i doubt any government would class it as a soft drug coz its still an amphetamine. hollands policy is more of a dont ask dont tell combined with state sponsored testing of pills to cut down on bad batches (now there's an enlightend policy)
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.... he who makes a beast of himself, rids himself of the pain of being a man...

The Swiss Government have now classed Ecstasy as a Class B drug, the same as Marijuana. That was done sometime last year

ur right about the Swiss.
a judge or magistrate went pretty easy on a guy charged for selling E, saying it was a soft drug whose social consequences were at the lower end of the scale, compared with heroin, coke, speed etc.

A couple of things you can use in your discussion are, like said above, that the swiss government has already stepped ahead in what it believes is right.
You can say that even though its classified somewhere between the amphetamine/hallucinogenic etc.. properties it is in a category of its own so it shouldn't matter.
It is the only (or one of few) drugs where the side effects greatly increase, comparable to a slight 'positive side' increase with an increase in dosage.
Research done by NIDA also shows that as tolerance develops for the drug, the side effects increase and in the long run the majority of people lose interest or reduce use of the drug.
Lastly, a 1999 research paper by NIDA (forgot which one) has shown that Ecstasy (unlike amphetamine) cannot be classified as an addicitve drug because it does not fit the properties. However through new data it is trying to create a different "class" of addiction to which MDMA might apply though this is very new.
IMPORTANTLY, do not go out and say that you do ecstasy and thats why you think it's good because that might qualify as a biased report on the drug. Say that many of your friends do it and you believe the benefits greatly outweigh the risks.
You can study the death cases involving ecstasy and see that hardly any are a direct influence of the drug. If a ceratin person's death gets brought up which occured in 1995, remind them that it has been 5 years with nothing on the news and then find something stupid - like the number of people who died from lack of air whilst playing the flute and this should demonstrate your point.
Lastly announce that you are a new born child of ecstasy and that you welcome others to join you on the journey (for a healthy profit on your behalf when you sling off your pills for $60 each).
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ECSTASY: A state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control.

I got some great info. from Amazon.com but the books take about 6 weeks and I imagine you won't have the time to wait.
Regarding deaths - you should look up the number of deaths related to and caused by panadol and similar products per year - in comparison to E it isn't good - are these 'soft' drugs (about 120 per year in USA due to Panadol and similar products I believe - forget the exact amount).
Also you cannot od from E. Only get drug related deaths as someone else said. This is like any other drug - some people react/ are allergic..hell some are allergic to MSG and Lactose...
MDMA should be defined as distinct from the common E or Ecstacy pills which could contain anything from K to Aspirin and MDA etc (make sure you clarify as many 'non uses' don't know the difference')
MDMA (E) - is not addictive. The only truely addictive drugs (as defined by having withdrawl symptoms) are: alcohol, nicotine and heroin and similar opiates (also maybe caffeine - I know I get headaches without it)
Cocaine is only dependence forming as is amphetamine (NOT physically addictive) despite what people say. - need to define 'addicted'. Physical and psychological.
Any drug including gambling and food can be dependence forming and be pyschologically addictive - meaning one 'may' (a good word to mean 'may or may not' - in short this word makes the sentence meaningless but gives people an idea') wish to re-create the experience not because the body needs it but because it was 'fun'.
In short - E should be considered a soft drug primarily as it is non addictive and almost impossible to OD on. It is certainly less toxic than alcohol and probably tabacco (although heroin is less toxic than tabacco). In addition, as someone else stated, as one uses the drug the side effects get worse and the affect of the drug diminshes with time leading to the opposite of addiction - the user gets sick of it! Most E uses eventually end up back on alcohol.
I would recommend comparing the drug on most criteria with the two legal drugs alcohol and tabacco. Then compare it to dope - often thought of as a soft drug.
Hope that helps. Wish I could send the books.

Thanks alot guys. Firstly, the presentation is due in 2 weeks, so I have a bit of time to prepare. Secondly, I plan on making this presentation from a non-biased point of view. Im not gonna say - 'oh, I love e, go and try some and let me know how you go'. - Its going to subjective. I want to get rid of all these stupid myths behind it, but I also want to show the dangers and side effects (jaw clenshing etc) All this info is greatly appreciated - Mr. Horse
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I'm an idealist...
I dont know where im going but im on my way

and i think what must be mentioned most of all is the social consequences of MDMA. there is probably more good than bad.
You look at the effects and how it promotoes love, joy etc, not violence and death like alcohol.
and different to the other amphetamines does not make one aggressive, psychotic on the come down etc.
and how many of u have committed a crime to get money to pay for E. probably very few unlike those addicted to H, speed, crack etc.
I totally agree with u Helski wrt people saying they took an E. I think it should just be i took a pill, MDMA shouldn't be mentioned at all unless thats is what was really taken.
it burns me up when the media says someone died of an ecstasy overdose despite the fact that the pill contained PMA, and the like.

GOOD GOOD GOOD GOOD
Well done people
I'd agree with all of the above posts.
Most important: be subjective and make sure yuo back up anything you say with someone elses opinion. You will get nowhere if you say "I think..." and "I have ..." etc etc. and make sure you define the source of any refrence you obtain a quote from.
Good luck

A good refrence would be "E is for Ecstacy" although I dont know if you will find it as I remember somthing about it being banned for import to Aust.
[This message has been edited by heepzahype (edited 11 February 2000).]

"E is for Ecstasy" might be illegal in Australia because our country is run by a bunch of old fuckwits who don't give a shit about educating society about drugs but the good old ecstasy.org site never fails and provides an online copy at:
http://www.ecstasy.org/books/e4x
Enjoy and spread the word!!
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ECSTASY: A state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control.

What interests me is the foundation for the classification of controlled and illegal drugs. On what basis was ecstasy ever determined to be a class A drug? What typifies a class A drug?
You cant argue that e should be soft unless you know the criteria for a hard drug right? The only route is by comparison to other "hard drugs" like heroin, i.e E should be soft coz its not as bad as H kind of thing.
All I can find is basic info on the Misuse of Drugs Act saying what drugs are which class and that the classification was made on the basis of how dangerous a drug was. But no specifics or sources.
e.g
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 :
The Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) is the major Act controlling drugs. It places controlled drugs into one of three classifications (A, B or C), depending on how dangerous the drug is thought to be at the time of inclusion - those drugs thought to be most dangerous are Class A. There is no clear protocol that says what 'dangerous' effects warrant these classifications, and it is therefore not possible to say that the toxicity, likelihood of dependence, or psychoactive effects of Class A drugs is vastly different to those drugs in Class C.
Drugs are also placed within one of five schedules (1-5). The Schedule that a drug is placed in relates to its perceived medical therapeutic use. Schedules determine whether a drug may be prescribed or not, and impose duties relating to record keeping, manufacturing, storage and distribution. Schedule 1 drugs are thought to have no legitimate medical therapeutic use, and possession is only legitimate with a home office licence; many schedule 5 drugs are sold without the need for a prescription.
I have to say this kind of wigs me out, that there is no clear definition provided for such a major law.
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"For goodness sakes, would you look at those cakes?"

That is very interesting, thanks for that!!
I would like to find out how they classify drugs but I have no idea where to find it. Any suggestions anyone?

i kinda like the survey idea.. not too long ..make it real simple tho.. this way ppl won't mind doing it=) ..and a pretty good info site about e is http://ecstasy.org/.. found some pretty interesting stuff on it anyways ..just a suggestion.. but yeah ..bye..
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