CLUB DRUG REPORTER SHOULD RE-CHECK THEIR FACTS (AND DRUG RECIPES)

TO THE EDITOR:

In response to your article on "club drugs" (March 24), you completely
misidentified the contents of Ecstasy or MDMA. It does not contain either
Methamphetamine (Speed) or Mescaline, the active compound in Peyote. MDMA
is a synthetic stimulant compound that causes a release of the natural
brain chemical Seratonin, making the user feel alert, happy, and
emotionally open. MDMA has been used clinically in the past, and is
currently being studied in the United States for potential use with victims
of rape and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It allows the patient to
open up and work through their experience in therapy.

There is no question that the street version of MDMA or Ecstasy is widely
abused in the club and rave scene. It makes you feel good, so it is very
popular. The greatest risk is that most street Ecstasy pills contain
adulturants. Less than half of them are pure MDMA, often mixed with
Ephedra, Caffeine, Ketamine, DXM, 5-Meo-Dipt and PMA. Unlike Meth, Real
MDMA is difficult to make, so there is a high temptation for a dealer to
sell you something he calls "Ecstasy", but might actually be a dangerously
impure mix or have no MDMA at all.

There is no 100mg standard as your article claims, so the risk of overdose
is high. If you dance on MDMA you run the risk of becoming dehydrated and
overheated (Hyperthermia).

My point? I believe MDMA has great clinical potential, but as long as the
media continues to misinform the public about what MDMA is and what it
does, we may never benefit from it's ability to help real patients with
real mental problems.

BREN BOREN West Jordan, Utah