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This weekend is the 9th World Congress for NeuroRehabilitation that this convention center. Looking over their exhibits and speakers, why are the polices needing to record the plates of professionals involved in "neurorehabilitation, which includes physicians, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, speech therapists, rehabilitation engineers, basic neuroscientists "? Did the Philly police confuse them for some MAPS type of organization, thinking their going to be doing drugs at the convention? WCRN isn't even a US orgainzation, but is out of the UK, their main organizer (Kenes International Organizers) is out of Switzerland.. Why are the police recording plates of doctors, scientists, and people from a country we consider a close ally?

Anyway, I just used their Contact Us page and sent them a message: "Did you know that the Philadelphia Police Department has been monitoring license plates from an illegally marked vehicle at your WCNR 2016 meeting? Thought you might want to look into this. http://motherboard.vice.com/re..." If they respond I'll post a follow up, maybe this can cause some international scandal (laughs manically while wringing hands).

I think the reason that ecstasy doesn't exist as a medication is because it actually works. At least for soldiers with PTSD.

Which worked so well after WWII. But don't worry. This time we know what we're doing. Really. Trust us. At least we're not using drugs. Drugs are bad mkay?

Sure it can, but not using crappy mind-dulling drugs the for-profit pharmaceutical industry sells.

http://www.maps.org/

The down side is the majority of the hippies that did a lot of drugs died young.

Citation needed. Nobody has ever died from marijuana or LSD, nor has there been any evidence whatsoever that it decreases one's lifespan.

No one is suggesting you come to work while tripping or on pot, just as no one would suggest that coming into work while on alcohol is a good thing.
MAPS has done extensive research in this area and many psychedelic drugs have had profound, positive effects on individuals long after they come down from their experiences.

Quite frankly, I'd never hire you, and as a successful entrepreneur making more money than I ever have while employing 12 people, which my admittedly revolutionary product idea was drafted during drug induced brainstorms, I think you're full of shit. I'd take a developer or engineer coming in with long hair and tie-dye than some caffeine/alcohol addicted empty suit.

This is very true. Check out http://www.maps.org/ for more information on MDMA-assisted-therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, Psilocybin-assisted-therapy for terminal cancer anxiety and depression, and much more. This country is generally afraid of some of the most promising drugs for psychotherapy simply because the peace and well-being they impart is recreationally useful. We do this in spite of many legal prescriptions being recreationally-useful themselves: opiates, stimulants, anxiolytics.... Entheogens are a very promising path but one to tread carefully because of how little legitimate information makes it through the filters of political and social rhetoric.

Well, then!

Perhaps the US Military can fund a study into other treatments for PTSD?

I know a group called MAPS that is looking for some funding for clinical PTSD trials on US War Veterans...

Perhaps some /.'ers might want to help, too!

Regards.

Well, then!

Perhaps the US Military can fund a study into other treatments for PTSD?

I know a group called MAPS that is looking for some funding for clinical PTSD trials on US War Veterans...

Perhaps some /.'ers might want to help, too!

Regards.

Well, then!

Perhaps the US Military can fund a study into other treatments for PTSD?

I know a group called MAPS that is looking for some funding for clinical PTSD trials on US War Veterans...

Perhaps some /.'ers might want to help, too!

Regards.

But since the patent on MDMA has expired, and it needs only to be used a limited number of times instead of on an ongoing basis, it is not going to profitable for any pharmaceutical company.

So the group trying to get MDMA through the 10 year, $10 million, program of clinical trials is a non-profit group which promotes better access to psychedelic drugs for therapeutic purposes.

Marijuana has also been shown to be more successful in treating PTSD than many standard pharmaceuticals.

It would be interesting indeed if militaries around the world started giving their vets MDMA and marijuana once they have returned home from battle.

Nitpick: MDMA was first synthesised as an anoretic but rapidly withdrawn after the "side effects" became apparent :) AFAIK it was only when Shulgin rediscovered it that it was found useful for treating psychological problems. As a result of the fine work of MAPS there are multiple studies evaluating it for the treatment of severe post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions, but despite this and a wealth of medical evidence showing that MDMA is not sufficiently harmful to be in Schedule 1 / class A, I doubt that politicians will downgrade it anytime soon.

"We conclude that smoking marijuana, regardless of tetrahydrocannabinol content, results in a substantially greater respiratory burden of carbon monoxide and tar than smoking a similar quantity of tobacco"

You do know that is terribly misleading though, don't you?

People don't smoke marijuana in a "similar quantity" to tobacco.

in fact, there are types of systems that deliver much less carbon monoxide and tar even when similar quantities are used. See http://www.maps.org/ for the current state of research of this kind.

Cheers

Handbook for the Therapeutic Use of LSD-25

MDMA is a treatment more applicable to situations other than Iraq veterans and with less emotional suffering.

http://www.maps.org/

Also, on the same site as TFA:
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jun/16-could-an-acid-trip-cure-your-ocd

^^ I had a note in the original version of that post after the bit about heroin saying: "Note: This is a bit of an oversimplification, but I needed to make a point." but it got lost somewhere in revision.

A lot of what I've read suggests that heroin is actually a much better better pain killer than morphine, due to higher bioavailability, but that the drug was scheduled as having no medical use out of fear. This happens waaaaaay too often. LSD shows extreme potential in the treatment of everything from social anxiety to alcoholism. MDMA was very promising in therapy sessions, and MAPS (which is an excellent organization, for anyone looking to support people doing real, meaningful medical research with psychedelic drugs) is trying to resurrect its use in the medical community. LSD, as well as psilocybin mushrooms, have shown potential as some of the only meaningful treatments for a condition called cluster headaches. One of the major prescriptions right now for migraine avoidance is ergotamine tartrate, which is a direct precursor of LSD production. Prohibition has gotten to the point where we're ignoring therapeutic uses for these substances.

I didn't mean to imply that methamphetamine and heroin are ONLY street drugs, but it was a quick and dirty description for the sake of making a point about the fact that d-amphetamine and methamphetamine are different chemicals. Thanks for the reply!

Interesting idea with the ball bearings. But it should be noted that an unfiltered joint is better at delivering a higher proportion of THC to tar when compared to water pipes. Apparently the water traps a higher % of thc than tar according to that one MAPS study that compared various smoking apparatuses So a pipe without water would be the best method (if you don't like vaporizers) as not only do you get less tar, but you don't get a continuous burn and there's no wasted product. I've used just crushed ice before, and found it quite nice, might be worth picking up something small and plastic to test the BB idea though. Even if it didn't condense the tar, you would still get the same chilling effect on the smoke.

How would you handle a situation where a private user makes a post to an online discussion group expressing opinion A. Some other individual picks up the post and, without notifying the author or obtaining their consent, uses it to promote a product (Makuka Olive Oil supplements), sell advertising space on the web page, and express an opinion B (which is complete opposite that of the original author's opinion A) by (deliberately?) misinterpreting the subject line of the original e-mail.

To add insult to injury the web page defames the original author by egregious use of improper paraphrasing--attributing to the author both drug use and a heart attack and making it seem as if the author is willing to testify to the direct association of the heart attack with an event which never actually occurred, at least not within the context of the original forum post. The heartdiseaseguru.com page is automatically regenerated with each page load and may or may not contain the libelous statement which appears in the summary provided with a Google search--it does about two out of five page loads.

Upon gaining employment with a large corporate entity in the Real World, outside of the realm of web pages featuring dietary supplements and their frivolous/libelous authors, the original author is puzzled that he is getting the third degree from his management and can't gain the support of HR even if he's being verbally assaulted in the hallways by senior group leaders. This is because the HR rep, while scraping the web for employees' names and known e-mail addresses (a morally questionable tactic--even if it is, and it may not be depending upon local laws, perfectly legal), came across a web page that attributed drug use and a heart attack to a new star employee--the perfect way to find the "what's wrong with this otherwise perfect picture" and completely dismantle what might have been an otherwise booming start to an ascending career.

People with means and money steal from those who do not, with blatant disregard of laws which they would use in a heartbeat to protect themselves if the tables were turned. In the Quick Overview on the JMRI home page it is stated that, not only is Katzer using JMRI's software without giving them due credit, but Katzer is attempted to obtain money per copy from JMRI for the distribution of their own code using a patent to show ownership while completely ignoring the prior art. According to the JMRI website Katzer has gone so far as to contact the employer of one of the JMRI contributors, Bob Jacobsen, in an effort to intimidate Bob into bending to Katzer's desires.

It happens all the time. Consider the following example in which a private author made a post to a forum debunking an article which attempted to associate marijuana use with an acute risk of cardiac arrest. That post was subsequently misquoted and the subject line taken out of context in the interest of expressing the exact opposite opinion, promote a product, sell advertising space, and defame the original author by putting words in their mouth. When human resources representatives came across the heartdiseaseguru.com page while scraping the web for employees' e-mail addresses, the private author subsequently experienced a complete loss of credibility in the workplace due to: an alleged heart attack which wasn't reported in the preemployment screening (which never happened), alleged marijuana use (which the employer would never have known about), and a propensity for making completely unsubstantiated claims (that marijuana use is a cause of an acute heart attack). The heartdiseaseguru.com web page is regenerated each time it is loaded. About one out of every five page loads will result in the story on the side reading with a line "Steven Maximilln maximilln at hotmail.com reported using the drug within an hour before heart attack". This implies that the author does use marijuana and has had a heart attack--neither of which is true according to the original post on the MAPS forum.

Thankfully the JMRI team has legal counsel available to them. Let's hope that they are able to secure a true and just judgement which will preserve their rights to their own code. The private author in the example above endured harassment, loss of promotion options, and eventually became homeless. Every attorney contacted to remedy the situation has asked for a retainer fee to even look at the two web links cited above.

these kinds of "rage" attacks are definitely on the increase
WRONG
http://www.crimestatistics.org.uk/output/Page63.as p
(And thats before taking Victorian London into account)

with binge drinking also increasing
LOL ! Getting shitfaced is obviously a new phenominon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin_Lane

Even take violence at football games - yes, it's decreased here in the past 20 years but only because there are so many police
Nothing to do with the rise of MDMA in the late 80's & early 90's then?
http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v04n1/04122mdm.ht ml

Stop reading the News of the Screws / Daily Hate and get a grip.

Here you go :)

http://www.maps.org/mdma/

MDMA (better known as "ecstacy"), is currently being studied for exactly this purpose:

http://www.maps.org/mdma/
http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/news/maps_mdmaprot ocol_approved.htm
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/mdma/mdma_research 4.shtml

So it looks like the drugs have actually won the "War on Drugs"...:)

Did you mean people who smoke pot all the time? How about just those who've admitted it? There are lots of famous people who have used it...not all are rocket scientists but a few were :-). Personally I have found no correlation between cannabis use and intelligence... People who are stupid straight are invariably stupid stoned...drunk...asleep...upright...

The brain cells that supposedly are stimulated are not those that increase intelligence but those associated with depression. Interesting research... Did Bob Marley have a tumor in his hippocampus?

I don't know which 'they' you are referring to. US research has been held back by the war on some drugs. The rest of the world (and some parts of the USA) are doing more and more research.

On July 21, 2004, MAPS, Prof. Craker and Valerie Corral filed lawsuits against DEA and also against HHS/NIH/NIDA for obstructing medical marijuana research, and on July 29, 2004, MAPS filed a motion to consolidate the lawsuit against the DEA and the lawsuit against HHS, NIH and NIDA. http://www.maps.org/mmj/vaporizer.html

"I think they suspected that it interfered with left and right brain communication."

Do you have a reference? Maybe in drug warriors. One side of their brain keeps saying "the law is the law and my job depends upon hating drugs and those associated with them" and the other side says "I love my children....even if they use drugs." at which point both sides say "Time for a beer.."

I'm assuming your study took place in the US, if that assumption is wrong then I wouldn't be as confident in my assertions. That said:

The seminal study that made the "ecstasy"/neurotoxicity link was actually with methamphetamine-- that's a pretty big mistake. [View the retraction.] Unfortunately it's a mistake which is easily upheld against anecdotal evidence of recreational users due to the high frequency with which pills are sold as "ecstasy" which are meth (in addition to DXM, ephedrine, etc.) While these people may believe they used MD(M)A, more than likely they were reporting repeated, high-dose methamphetamine usage.

It would be prudent for everyone- especially researchers- to be made aware of the large discrepancy between what your subjects SAY they have taken, and what they have most likely actually ingested, particularly in the case of ecstasy/MDMA.

[For more info on how one faulty study getting a therapeutic substance on emergency Schedule I, read the story at MAPS, and give a few dollars while you're there.]

Academia is far from as pure as the public might imagine. It is troubled with the same problems as the rest of society.

For those who don't know of him, George Ricaurte is the NIDA scientist which recently had to retract a severly flawed paper on MDMA neurotoxcity. Part of the problem is that NIDA is in the business of sustaining the War On Some Drugs, a multi billion business. It is in their interest to sustain funding for research that confirms the basis for this "war". Researchers which come up with results that are contrary to this cause (ie. which debunks common myths of toxicity and other perceived dangers) are committing career suicide.

The MDMA neurotoxcity paper by Ricaurte came under heavy fire for flawed methods when it was first released (mostly from partisan researchers with nothing to lose). The paper has since been used to push anti-MDMA legislation (like the RAVE act), both in the US and in other countries. The main reason the paper was retracted was the discovery that Ricaurte and his team hadn't even used MDMA in their animal toxcity experiments, but a completely different chemical. A small error (as Ricaurte claims) or evidence of very foul play? The company which supplied the chemicals claim that such a mixup is absurd and extremely unlikely.

Still, this has only put a small dent in Ricaurte's reputation, since he is working for the "good cause". The science behind it doesn't seem to be important, it's the underlying goals. He is now involved in new NIDA research with the same goals as before, to "prove" that MDMA is an inheritly dangerous and evil chemical.

For more information about the retraction, see the retraction itself and the response from MAPS.

Science is the a very good method to make the world understandable, but the public would do well to be a tad more sceptical and understand that a scientific degree is no automatic proof of pure intentions or valid results, there is almost always bias. Especially when there are large sums of money involved.

There is NO scientific evidence that MDMA causes any sort of long term damage to humans. Thousands of studies have been run and nothing conclusive has ever been produced. Although there may still be risks to consider, MDMA is approximately as risky as your average prescription medication. It's certainly far safer than the common recreational drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.

If you are interested in the science of MDMA research, I highly recommend MAPS, especially
this.

For lighter reading with see MDMA.nu.

There is NO scientific evidence that MDMA causes any sort of long term damage to humans. Thousands of studies have been run and nothing conclusive has ever been produced. Although there may still be risks to consider, MDMA is approximately as risky as your average prescription medication. It's certainly far safer than the common recreational drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.

If you are interested in the science of MDMA research, I highly recommend MAPS, especially
this.

For lighter reading with see MDMA.nu.

but exactly where did I reference the Hopkins study? That one reportedly dealt with a putative parkinsons/MDMA link. No matter, there's plenty of research for you to peruse on MDMA, much of which deals with the Neuropharmacology of the drug. The Hopkins study is hardly representative of the entire body of literature on the subject.

As a heads up, Prozac use often tags people with seratonin imbalances. Seratonin is in the MDMA equation and intensifies positive and negative effects of the drug on these people

Excuse me... what? I'm not even sure what you're trying to say here... In the animal studies currently available, Prozac has not been shown to intensify the effects of MDMA... in fact, the opposite is true. The mechanism has even been elucidated. Prozac can reportedly intensify some neurotransmitter effects of other amphetamines, but I've never seen research to suggest that effect exists with ecstasy.

Lastly, ecstacy tablets bought on the street are almost never ever pure and are often cut with speed,cocaine,heroin,DXM (this causes major overheating),drano or other nasties which are responsible for ER visits, imho.

Street drugs are often misrepresented... a point I made in my initial post. Even so, it an incredible stretch to blame the deleterious effects of ecstasy on adulterants. The adulterants you mentioned are harmful, but that hardly evidence that ecstasy is harmless.

I've never done Ecstasy (MDMA). But... for one thing, the "real" thing used to be an FDA approved drug for weight loss. The only danger is that in high enough doses you get stupid and don't realize you are overheating and dehydrating, both of which will kill you.

Now, the chemistry to make MDMA is relatively hard and expensive. As a result the majority of X is cut with cheaper (and more dangerous) substances.

I can't speak towards the additiveness other than to say the friends I had who did it a lot seemed to stop when they felt like it. (Scientific, eh?)

Another thing to note is that the original "ecstasy is bad" study was completely flawed. The substance they tested turned out to be a completely different drug! (Congress Passed Ecstasy Law on Flawed Science)

There may be dangers with X, but they are likely much less than the current batch of: "if you do X, you'll instantly become a brain-damaged addict" ads on TV.

Boy are you clueless. Go back to the 1930's and get a job with William Randolph Hearst, he's got some tabloid articles for you to write.

You know why pot is really illegal? It's because HEMP threatens the profits of the industrialists. You can make any grade of paper with it. It's the toughest natural fibre aside from spider silk. You can run a car on hemp oil. People could be growing gas in their backyards. Can't have that! Dubya's family has been heavily into oil for decades. Step up the War on Drugs! No conflict of interest here, move along.

In 1937, when marijuana was banned, the American Medical Association OPPOSED it. They had been prescribing it safely for over a hundred years.

Every scientific study of marijuana has concluded that it is substantially less harmful than cigarettes or alcohol. Very recently, a senate committee here in Canada which studied it in depth, recommended unanimously to the government that pot is far less dangerous than smoking and drinking, and should be regulated accordingly.

Perhaps, gram for gram, there are more carcinogens in marijuana than tobacco. So what? People smoke far less pot than cigarettes, because pot is not chemically addictive. I've been smoking pot regularly for about 8 years. You know how much I smoke now? A small pipe bowl when I get home from work, and maybe a shared joint when my roommate gets home. Now compare that to a smoker who measures their habit in packs per day, and is only getting worse.

"There is why pot is illegial [...] I can tell by your wording that you are a pothead"

I can tell by your wording that you make the average pothead look pretty bright.

As for the consciousness remark he made ("consciousness is marginal."), I for one will disagree. And that is what MAPS is all about (along with the likes of Richard Schultes, the late Terrence McKenna, Dennis McKenna, and a slew of other "psyconauts" out there).

Experian is a company that sells crack by spamming millions of schoolchildren. MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) has refused to provide their drug-friendly mailing lists because they insist that crack is not a psychedelic drug. However, Experian threatened to take them to court with the argument that if they can include marijuana under their umbrella, then the definition is broad enough to include crack.

Wisely recognizing that both sides are better off not attracting the attention of the courts, MAPS has apparently backed down.

A loss indeed. You can expect many of your peaceful local potheads to become violent criminal crackheads any day now.

I hope this clears up any misconceptions you may have had from the shamefully vague top-level story. I'm a little fuzzy on some of the details myself, but as usual, trying a few likely domain names gave me access to the essentials.

And many therapists feel that MDMA, aka ecstasy, is a very valuable theraputic tool. Again, it's almost impossible to get permission to study these substances in the US unless you're on the "right" side.

Oh, the original poster asked for studies. There are a bunch of them at the MAPS page on MDMA Research. There are a number demonstrating that it is a pretty safe drug, and others are underway to verify the anectotal evidence of theraputic use.

This is not ironclad stuff yet, but it's a lot more sound than the science that backs those "nutritional supplements" that consume billions of dollars and a number of lives every year.

And many therapists feel that MDMA, aka ecstasy, is a very valuable theraputic tool. Again, it's almost impossible to get permission to study these substances in the US unless you're on the "right" side.

Oh, the original poster asked for studies. There are a bunch of them at the MAPS page on MDMA Research. There are a number demonstrating that it is a pretty safe drug, and others are underway to verify the anectotal evidence of theraputic use.

This is not ironclad stuff yet, but it's a lot more sound than the science that backs those "nutritional supplements" that consume billions of dollars and a number of lives every year.

#include <devils_advocate>

Before everyone goes off ranting and raving about censorship, I'd like to point out that the same argument that lets ORBS and the RBL off the hook applies here. We say that it's acceptable for ISPs to block known spammers because spam is a nuisance to the internet community, and because the ISP is a private business, and customers can always choose not to do business with them if they don't like their policies.

Well, in some ways, the same applies here. If kinky porn is offensive to the majority of the members of the community, the ISP may be right to block it. And again, those who don't like it, don't have to purchase Internet access from the ISP.

--

I am alive. I wish upon myself alternate states of consciousness. I am sympathetic to others freedom and only wish I was granted the same. My memory is grand and filled with japanese vistas. When I am out and the owls catch me like a cat to feed to the natives and the wooden sprites clown me into submission. I will make my way to the kings room. O what sublime fortune that I may tempt stone to writhe though without life. Sweet calcitrant death you furrow a moon that I followed at first. Weekends and mornings of excess. Empty bottles scattered among toxic swollen atmosphere. How can you defend my freedom and make my decisions for me in the same breath? I am weak and common, but I me.

Ha Ha Ha, you're a misinformed idiot (like the guys on capitol hill) How active is cocaine when taken orally? How much would be needed to excite the dopamine transmitters and whatnot? I'm sure it would be much more than the 200mg a pill of MDMA is. Oh yeah, Cocaine lasts about twenty minutes, one exposure when masked by the stimulant properties of MDMA cannot lead to addiction. Hmm, let me think..this sounds like those stories of E laced with heroin..something that is virtually inactive at the doses required to fit in a pill when taken orally. Are you pulling these facts out of your ass..are you getting this information from drugfreeamerica.org-clearly a non-biased website. Try actually learning about drugs (it doesn't have to be first hand) through books (oh wait, congress is going to take away those rights..I can't wait to see kids at parties drinking too much water or mixing MDMA with alcohol because they cannot get any information.) Why shouldn't we regulate the recreational drug phenomonon--because the Goverment is run by a bunch of Puritanical Christians and Idealistic Liberals? God, this makes me sick.. Oh yeah, if it weren't for websites such as erowid and lycaeum two of my friends would have been seriously hurt when they drank a vile of acid...wanna know why? Because I learned that Chlorpromazine Maleate is an anti-psychotic and that thorazine (which I had supplies of) would also help to bring them back to ground zero. Would this law also ban sites whose intent is to help others (i.e. needle exchange sites with tips on how to safely inject)? Instead of sweeping the drug "problem" under the tables and ignoring the fact that they exist, I would propose that we the american people legalize our rights to property and capitalize on our ability to treat our bodies as our own temples..to injest whatever we like, no matter how harmful the government says..god..I'm sure whoppers and big macs contribute to more deaths than all illegal drugs combined. What were there? like 5 deaths in the US last year in which *only* MDMA was involved.. what 100 in which the stupid (I say stupid because they are uninformed..cause they didn't read up) and mixed alcohol or other drugs with their e.. Oh and lets see..how many deaths occur each year to alcohol poisoning, driving under the influence of alcohol? Who are we going to believe? An oppressive government and its propaganda spreading "education campaigns? (DARE,DRUGFREEAMERICA, NIDA,DEA) or those researchers who present only the facts? (the late Dr. Saunders, the folks at MAPS.org) The choice isn't hard.. I personally would like to choose facts over fiction. Sincerely everyones with peace love unity and respect, Josh

thank you for posting this. It is good to know that there ARE people who have educated themselves on this subject.

This Zach guy is completely clueless on this, hopefully he will learn from this flaming and go learn a few things before yapping.

you did read Dr. Holland's speech on the maps site didn't you? Excellent stuff.
the MAPS speech