THE AGONY OF ECSTASY

We've never subscribed to the libertarian view that drugs should be
legalized, and now two new studies on the long-term effects of the popular
club drug ecstasy offer more evidence of why that's a bad idea. Articles in
the Harvard Review of Psychiatry and in Science describe longer-term
side-effects of the drug, including an increased likelihood of depression
and Parkinson's disease. So teen use today could lead to a public health
hangover tomorrow.

Ecstasy is the common name for MDMA, or 3-4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine.
Often called the "hug drug," ecstasy makes users feel euphoric and is
popular at dance parties called raves. While overall drug use among teens
remained steady between 2000 and 2001, ecstasy use increased 20%. More than
12% of teens have reported trying ecstasy at least once, according to the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Unlike cocaine or heroin, ecstasy
isn't at the heart of street crime, gangs or Third World drug cartels, but
that doesn't make it safe.

The drug works by releasing huge amounts of serotonin in the brain.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter targeted by some antidepressants and its
release causes feelings of love, acceptance and intimacy. But new research
shows that in the long term the drug destroys nerve endings, thereby
lowering levels of two important neurotransmitters -- serotonin and
dopamine. The Science study finds that monkeys given ecstasy three times in
one night had 60% to 80% lower dopamine levels six weeks after they were
given the drug. Scientists concluded these lowered levels may make even
one-night ecstasy users more vulnerable to Parkinson's.

The Harvard Review of Psychiatry piece suggests that the drug depletes
serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain. Bruce Price, one of the doctors
who conducted this study at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital, worries
about ecstasy users' future susceptibility to depression. The question is,
"Are we spawning a new generation of people who will struggle with
depression over their lifetime? Imagine the public health problem that this
could create," he says.

Some 2.9 million American teens have experimented with ecstasy. If the drug
were legal, that number would be far higher, as would the number of
potentially damaged lives.