Jun 14, 2012 – 8:19 AM ET | Last Updated: Jun 15, 2012 9:52 AM ET
Nick Procaylo/Postmedia News
Ecstasy seized in Vancouver.
In this occasional feature, the National Post tells you everything you need to know about a complicated issue. Today, Tristin Hopper looks at B.C.’s fresh drug debate:
Q: B.C.’s chief medical officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, told The Canadian Press on Wednesday that the drug MDMA (“ecstasy”) is safe in pure form. Didn’t it kill all those people?
A: Over the last year, 16 people in Alberta, B.C., and Saskatchewan have indeed died after ingesting ecstasy. But the problem was not the ecstasy itself, it was an added ingredient, PMMA, that caused the users’ body temperatures to rocket to lethal levels. Dr, Kendall posited this week that if production of MDMA was regulated, and if it was sold in government-regulated liquor stores, it would keep users out of the morgue. An Australian paper released this week would seem to agree. On Wednesday, researchers at the Royal Perth Hospital reported that increasingly impure ecstasy had recently caused three otherwise healthy Perth residents to suffer severe heart attacks. “The drug can be stronger than you expect or it can contain other chemicals, so you can’t rely on what’s being sold to you because it’s completely unregulated,” report spokesman Daniel Fatovich told the Western Australian.
A: Over the last year, 16 people in Alberta, B.C., and Saskatchewan have indeed died after ingesting ecstasy. But the problem was not the ecstasy itself, it was an added ingredient, PMMA, that caused the users’ body temperatures to rocket to lethal levels. Dr, Kendall posited this week that if production of MDMA was regulated, and if it was sold in government-regulated liquor stores, it would keep users out of the morgue. An Australian paper released this week would seem to agree. On Wednesday, researchers at the Royal Perth Hospital reported that increasingly impure ecstasy had recently caused three otherwise healthy Perth residents to suffer severe heart attacks. “The drug can be stronger than you expect or it can contain other chemicals, so you can’t rely on what’s being sold to you because it’s completely unregulated,” report spokesman Daniel Fatovich told the Western Australian.
Q: So if it’s the impurities that are killing people, does that mean MDMA is harmless?
A: In pure form, research shows that a reasonable amount of ecstasy is not lethal, but that doesn’t mean it’s entirely free of side effects. Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health lists more than a dozen MDMA side effects, although much of them are in league with alcohol, such as sweating, dehydration, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, depression and liver damage. MDMA’s most well-known side-effect is teeth-grinding and jaw clenching, which can result in dental damage. It is why ravers will often suck on a pacifier during an ecstasy trip.
A: In pure form, research shows that a reasonable amount of ecstasy is not lethal, but that doesn’t mean it’s entirely free of side effects. Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health lists more than a dozen MDMA side effects, although much of them are in league with alcohol, such as sweating, dehydration, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, depression and liver damage. MDMA’s most well-known side-effect is teeth-grinding and jaw clenching, which can result in dental damage. It is why ravers will often suck on a pacifier during an ecstasy trip.
Q: Still, it won’t kill you if it’s kept pure. Do the police care?
A: It doesn’t matter if they care, since, in the eyes of the law, ecstasy remains in league with cocaine, crystal meth and date rape drug GHB. Regardless, the RCMP resolutely maintain that any amount of ecstasy – even pure ecstasy – is “extremely dangerous.” In February, a spokesman for the Coquitlam RCMP told a Vancouver reporter “there is no such thing as a good batch or a bad batch. Every single batch represents a dangerous drug with a serious health risk.”
A: It doesn’t matter if they care, since, in the eyes of the law, ecstasy remains in league with cocaine, crystal meth and date rape drug GHB. Regardless, the RCMP resolutely maintain that any amount of ecstasy – even pure ecstasy – is “extremely dangerous.” In February, a spokesman for the Coquitlam RCMP told a Vancouver reporter “there is no such thing as a good batch or a bad batch. Every single batch represents a dangerous drug with a serious health risk.”
Q: Are impurities a problem with other illegal drugs?
A: Ironically, Canada’s “controlled substances,” are among the country’s least-controlled commodities. To evade the scrutiny of law enforcement, narcotics are often prepared in concealed, unhygienic conditions with almost no incentive for quality control. In Canada, police raids have uncovered poorly ventilated ecstasy labs stuffed in residential garages and filled with dirty equipment.
A: Ironically, Canada’s “controlled substances,” are among the country’s least-controlled commodities. To evade the scrutiny of law enforcement, narcotics are often prepared in concealed, unhygienic conditions with almost no incentive for quality control. In Canada, police raids have uncovered poorly ventilated ecstasy labs stuffed in residential garages and filled with dirty equipment.
Q: Marijuana is entirely legal as long as you use it for medical purposes. Is there a medical case to be made for ecstasy?
A: Created exactly 100 years ago by German pharmaceutical maker Merck, the intended purpose of MDMA was as a blood-clotting agent – although it did not work. Recently, in clinical trials the drug has shown increasing promise as an effective treatment for schizophrenia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and Parkinson’s Disease. Last year, a joint British-Australian research team found initial evidence that an altered form of MDMA could combat blood cancers such as leukemia. In late May, David Nutt, a former chief advisor on drugs to the British government, said controls on psychedelic drugs were blocking valuable efforts to test the drug’s medical benefits. “Regulations, which are arbitrary, actually make it virtually impossible to research these drugs,” Mr. Nutt told a London press briefing in May.
A: Created exactly 100 years ago by German pharmaceutical maker Merck, the intended purpose of MDMA was as a blood-clotting agent – although it did not work. Recently, in clinical trials the drug has shown increasing promise as an effective treatment for schizophrenia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and Parkinson’s Disease. Last year, a joint British-Australian research team found initial evidence that an altered form of MDMA could combat blood cancers such as leukemia. In late May, David Nutt, a former chief advisor on drugs to the British government, said controls on psychedelic drugs were blocking valuable efforts to test the drug’s medical benefits. “Regulations, which are arbitrary, actually make it virtually impossible to research these drugs,” Mr. Nutt told a London press briefing in May.
Q: Aren’t there similar, reportedly safer, drugs that are legal?
A: Less and less. For anybody with $20 to spend on a pill, back in 2008 there were plenty of pill-based legal ecstasy alternatives on offer, usually from the same stores selling sex toys or marijuana paraphernalia. Said to be a safe alternative to MDMA, the pills’ most common active ingredients were BZP and TFMPP, both from a chemical class known as piperazines. Although the pills are not criminalized, they are not authorized for sale in Canada, and after a March amendment to Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations, the pills can now be legally seized by law enforcement.
A: Less and less. For anybody with $20 to spend on a pill, back in 2008 there were plenty of pill-based legal ecstasy alternatives on offer, usually from the same stores selling sex toys or marijuana paraphernalia. Said to be a safe alternative to MDMA, the pills’ most common active ingredients were BZP and TFMPP, both from a chemical class known as piperazines. Although the pills are not criminalized, they are not authorized for sale in Canada, and after a March amendment to Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations, the pills can now be legally seized by law enforcement.
National Post
• Email: thopper@nationalpost.com
• Email: thopper@nationalpost.com
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