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NEWS: Split over clinical use of ecstasy as US test begins

Jimity

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Oct 27, 2003
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Split over clinical use of ecstasy as US test begins
By Jacqueline Maley
December 31, 2004

The party drug ecstasy could be used to alleviate depression and anxiety in terminally ill patients after US authorities approved a trial of the substance.

The test, the first involving a psychedelic substance since Timothy Leary's infamous LSD experiments at Harvard in the 1960s, was welcomed by Australian doctors.

The US Food and Drug Administration has authorised the use of controlled doses of ecstasy, or methylenedioxymetamphetamine, or MDMA, for cancer patients struggling to cope with their impending death.

"Ecstasy is extremely efficient in changing people's mood," said David Caldicott, emergency research fellow at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. "If it wasn't, it wouldn't be pursued so enthusiastically as a recreational drug."

It is not the first time ecstasy has been used in a clinical setting. It was originally patented as a weight-loss drug by the German pharmaceutical company Merck, in 1914. In the '60s it was used by a group of psychoanalysts as a way of relaxing people and "accelerating the therapeutic process", Dr Caldicott said.
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More recently, MDMA has been investigated in the US for use in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders. Initial results were good, Dr Caldicott said. "The precedent exists for its use medicinally."

The ecstasy trial is the latest in a string of experiments using illicit drugs in medical settings.

In the US, doctors are researching the effects of psilocybin - the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms" - on terminally ill patients and people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Marijuana has been tested for the relief of nausea and pain.

Successful testing of these drugs could create dilemmas for governments with a prohibitionist approach to recreational drugs, Dr Caldicott said. "If you take a position that all drugs are evil, it becomes hard to turn around and say, 'We don't mind if you use it for some things,"' he said.

Buck Reed, the chief executive of first-aid provider UniMed, said the political environment surrounding party drugs was at odds with medical thought on the subject. "Doctors will always try to find a new use for something, but that doesn't mean politicians and law enforcement officers will like it," he said.

Gordian Fulde, the director of emergency medicine at St Vincent's Hospital, said all recreational drugs, including ecstasy, could have positive effects when taken in a clinical setting by patients who had been properly screened. "Ecstasy can make you feel euphoric, and the chemical basis of that is very sound," he said. "I think it's really good that official places are trying to find out if we can help patients with illegal drugs."

Dr Fulde said the therapeutic use of ecstasy was no different to the use of opiates in pain relief. It was also a cheap drug to manufacture, he said.

But the head of palliative care at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Paul Glare, said he was sceptical about any "silver bullet" treatment.

"When people are suffering from terminal illnesses they need a multidisciplinary approach," he said. "To think that there would be some magic drug to solve everybody's problems is unrealistic."

Most palliative-care patients were elderly, Dr Glare said, and more prone to side effects from mood-changing drugs.

"Young people at a dance party might get a benefit from it, but these patients sometimes find euphoria unpleasant," he said.

About 50 per cent of terminally ill patients suffered from depression and anxiety, Dr Glare said. Most could be treated with "talking therapy"; a minority were prescribed antidepressant medication. "I don't think ecstasy is likely to be the answer," he said.

Not sure if this is old news or not. I only just spotted it.
 
At least there is no glaring errors in this one. Seems people are warming up to the idea of clinical trials.

Bout fucking time if you ask me.
 
At least there is no glaring errors in this one

Except 1 I'm afraid to say, but then again I'm being a tad picky ;)

MDMA was never patented as an appetite suppressant. In a presentation at the Ecstasy Conference in 2001, Shulgin starts out by dismissing rumours about the origins of MDMA. He mentions that the concept of appetite suppression didn't exist in 1912 when Merck first applied for the patent.

Merck patented the compound simply as an N-methyl derivative of an allyl bezene. The patent was issued May 1914, and another was issued in 1920 for a reaction of MDMA with chloral hydrate. No pharmacological or bio-activity was mentioned.


As said, a minor unwarranted [?] nit-pick on my behalf. The article is well balanced for a change, leading with science rather than speculation. It's interesting to note the objectionable comments were given second place content wise, and seemed somewhat out of touch with recent developments in PTSD therapies. I do agree that MDMA wouldn't be suitable for many elderly patients due to cardio vascular properties.

In relation to terminally ill patients; it's also the loved one's who need help. At the conference mentioned above, Susan Stevens gives a heart wrenching account of her final days with her husband. He died of kidney cancer at 22. Their time together was brief, but she said, had it not been for Ecstasy, they could never have come to terms with his condition. She also goes on to speak of how in the final weeks, MDMA relieved the pain he was suffering - the only times he was able to move about freely without being in agony.

With proper adjunct therapies, MDMA will likely find more uses medically in the future. It has already indirectly contributed to the understanding of parkinsons disease, and has directed much research in this area.

Thanks for the post Jimity

edit; grammar; p_d
 
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"Young people at a dance party might get a benefit from it, but these patients sometimes find euphoria unpleasant," he said.

Find euphoria unpleasant? It's not like they'd be pumping these oldies with like 100mg of MDMA at a time...

/me pictures some 80year old granny peakin her tits off
*zombie nation comes on the sound system*

I wonder what the dosage \ time would be? I wonder how long MDMA would be effective via IV Drip?
How long could positive effects be maintained for, until the patient "crashes?"
Would substances like 5HTP be administered to try an avoid the "crash" ?

Man.... settling down to die with IV morphine and MDMA would be pretty awesome. All ya need is some fine ass ganja and a nitrous tank @_@

"Dammit, the old codgers are enjoying this shit so much they don't want to die!"
 
Amazing how a drug is acceptable when being used for 'medical' reasons. Why isn't 'fun' as important as someone dying a slow death?
 
Find euphoria unpleasant? It's not like they'd be pumping these oldies with like 100mg of MDMA at a time....

It is to my understanding the common clinical dosage is around 125mg?
Then again, this will probably be adjusted due to age, body weight and other factors.
 
Ann Shulgin stated that a typical session starts with 120mg followed by a one hour booster of 40-50mg .
 
I don't understand. Yes, MDMA lifts your mood but it also brings it down equally as hard. How is a bad comedown supposed to help those with a terminal illness?
 
^^^^ speak for yourself... i find comedowns very peaceful, relaxed and generally extremely nice. theyre almost as good as the peak, because they last all day...

'bad comedowns' probably result from mixing in methampethamine, extreme physical exertion, large doses of MDMA, not eating properly or adding a hangover to the mixture... i think the comedown from a threshold dose of MDMA taken in a relaxed setting would be fairly pleasant,

these terminal patients arent going to have a few lines, drop five pills then stomp it on the dancefloor all night and get blind drunk when they start coming down!!!
 
DeSpise said:

these terminal patients arent going to have a few lines, drop five pills then stomp it on the dancefloor all night and get blind drunk when they start coming down!!!

Perhaps not, but the thought sure is making me laugh! =D
 
yea me to, old people off tits, eye wobbles and jaw shakes thats sum funny shit.

p.s think of the mad faces they would pull when grinding and clenching :X 8( = =D
 
how mad would it feel to gurn with no teeth!!! ah the relieif
 
isn't a clinical dosage of 125mg fairly high - my understanding is that 125 mg exceeds the average dose in most recreational pills. Wouldn't there be all sorts of side effects with this dosageif used repeatedly esp before seretonin levels had stabilised. I would have though that there would be all sorts of memory loss, scattered issues etc.

Nice Tits
 
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