HUMANS NOT AT RISK

Re: One Night's Ecstasy Use Can Cause Brain Damage, Sept. 27.

Despite the headline, this article, which reported that a study found a
drastic effect on neurons of monkeys from Ecstasy or MDMA, does not show
that humans are at risk. Though humans and the primates studied are closely
related, there is not a great deal of correlation between brain
structure/function across these different species. To avoid confusion, we
need to look at the facts.

First, the doses given to the primates were so incredibly high that one in
five primates died. If 20% of MDMA users died every weekend, we would have
some basis for equivalence, but recreational MDMA users have only a
one-in-300,000 chance of death. Recreational MDMA users also do not inject
the drug. Therefore, the impact of the swallowed form of this drug can not
be justified through this study. Injection and ingestion cause the drug to
have completely different effects.

Finally, the study used too small a sample size.

There is an overwhelming amount of conflicting MDMA research out there. As
a member of the scientific community, I want to encourage research to
continue, so that we may better understand this drug, instead of conjuring
up a post-millennium version of reefer madness.

Domenic Martinello, medical student, Reno, Nev.