Scientist calls for the legalization of pure ecstasy (MDMA)

Another story that has developed today, although it will probably not feature in any of the national newspapers, is that scientists researching the effects and health implications of pure ecstasy,(also know as MDMA)have concluded that MDMA could be legalized along with an age restriction much like the way that alcohol is distributed. This has proven to be a controversial statement, in no small part due to the fact that their are hundreds of deaths worldwide as a result of taking the drug.

Officials warn that street sold MDMA holds several dangers

Dr. John Halpern, a Harvard Medical School assistant professor who has been studying the drug for 15 years said “it appears . . . it can be safely administered, certainly through research,” 

He hopes that in the next few years Canada will be able to structure a “sensible” MDMA strategy.

Rick Doblin, a scientist from Vancouver said of the drug "There are problems with criminalization, there are problems with legalization,” he said. “But the problems with criminalization are worse.”[SIC]


Officials from the University of Vancouver say that the health risks lay not in the pure ecstasy but in the batches of the substance which are cooked up by street gangs and drug dealers to be sold on the street. They added that taking pure ecstasy is safe in a controlled environment and the complications that come from street made MDMA are the biggest danger involved in the taking of the drug.