cannabisnews.com: Results Retracted On Ecstasy Study 





Results Retracted On Ecstasy Study 
Posted by CN Staff on September 06, 2003 at 09:33:15 PT
By Rick Weiss, Washington Post Staff Writer
Source: Washington Post 
Scientists at Johns Hopkins University who last year published a frightening and controversial report suggesting that a single evening's use of the illicit drug ecstasy could cause permanent brain damage and Parkinson's disease are retracting their research in its entirety, saying the drug they used in their experiments was not ecstasy after all. The retraction, to be published in next Friday's issue of the journal Science, has reignited a smoldering and sometimes angry debate over the risks and benefits of the drug, also known as MDMA.
The drug is popular at all-night raves and other venues for its ability to reduce inhibitions and induce expansive feelings of open-heartedness. But some studies have indicated that the drug can at least temporarily damage neurons that use the mood-altering brain chemical serotonin. Some users also have spiked fevers, which rarely have proven fatal. Last year's research, involving monkeys and baboons, purported to show that three modest doses of ecstasy -- the amount a person might take in a one-night rave -- could cause serious damage to another part of the brain: neurons that use the brain chemical dopamine. Two of 10 animals died quickly after their second or third dose of the drug, and two others were too sick to take the third dose. Six weeks later, dopamine levels in the surviving animals were still down 65 percent. That led Hopkins team leader George Ricaurte and his colleagues to conclude that users were playing Russian roulette with their brains. Advocates of ecstasy's therapeutic potential, including a number of scientists and doctors who believe it may be useful in treating post-traumatic stress disorder or other psychiatric conditions, criticized the study. They noted that the drug was given in higher doses than people commonly take and was administered by injection, not by mouth. They wondered why large numbers of users were not dying or growing deathly ill from the drug, as the animals did, and why no previous link had been made between ecstasy and Parkinson's despite decades of use and a large number of studies. The answer to at least some of those questions became clear with the retraction, which is being released by Science on Sunday evening but was obtained independently by The Washington Post. Because of a mislabeling of vials, the scientists wrote, all but one of the animals were injected not with ecstasy but with methamphetamine, or "speed" -- a drug known to damage the dopamine system. The researchers said they discovered the mistake when follow-up tests gave conflicting results, and they offered evidence that the tubes were mislabeled by the supplier, identified by sources as Research Triangle Institute of North Carolina. A spokesman for the company said last night that he did not know whether the company had erred. The error has renewed charges that government-funded scientists, and Ricaurte in particular, have been biased in their assessment of ecstasy's risks and potential benefits. Rick Doblin, president of Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a Sarasota, Fla.-based group that funds studies on therapeutic uses of mind-altering drugs and is seeking permission to conduct human tests of MDMA, said the evidence of serotonin system damage is weak. "The largest and best-controlled study of the effect of MDMA on serotonin showed no long-term effects in former users and minimal to no effects in current users," he said. Una McCann, one of the Hopkins scientists, said she regretted the role the false results may have played in a debate going on last year in Congress and within the Drug Enforcement Administration over how to deal with ecstasy abuse. "I feel personally terrible," she said. "You spend a lot of time trying to get things right, not only for the congressional record but for other scientists around the country who are basing new hypotheses on your work and are writing grant proposals to study this." But she and Ricaurte emphasized last night that the retraction had not changed their feelings about the danger of taking ecstasy. "I still wouldn't recommend it to anybody," McCann said. Source: Washington Post (DC)Author:  Rick Weiss, Washington Post Staff WriterPublished: Saturday, September 6, 2003; Page A03Copyright: 2003 Washington Post Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com Related Article & Web Site:MAPShttp://www.maps.org/Report of Ecstasy Drug's Great Risks http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17240.shtmlCannabisNews NIDA Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NIDA.shtml 
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Comment #20 posted by The GCW on September 07, 2003 at 18:35:19 PT
This XTC topic is flooding MAP.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/index.htmThis news is out!I'm not an XTC kind of guy, but the sequel needs to join the original.Prohibition is for those who want to fund the Al Capones, Bin Ladin's and George Bush's of the world... and I don't want to do that.
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Comment #19 posted by kaptinemo on September 07, 2003 at 18:21:10 PT:
Was it sloppy science...or deliberate Lysenkoism?
The kind of question a scientist really hates to be confronted with: both are pretty damning, the latter even more so, as it calls into question the integrity of the research conducted with the public's tax dollars. Research done largely with the demonstrably tacit expectation of the government footing the bills that the results will justify its' policy. Given how loudly the results of this now-discredited study were used in the trumpeting of the government's anti-drugs witch-hunt and formed the basis for much of the the anti-rave act legislation, that question bears asking more forcefully than it has been. One more false study backing up false premises used as false justification for a false war on drugs to create a false sense of need for greater government intervention in our lives. Anyone else smell a rank rodent? 
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Comment #18 posted by Richard Lake on September 07, 2003 at 17:28:52 PT:
Alert: Bad Science Drives Drug War Hysteria
At the request of, and with help from Rick Doblin of MAPS (he helped draft the sample LTE, etc.) I put together this little alert that some of you may find interesting, or maybe not. A long Sunday's work getting it together. Am I enjoying retirement yet?Alert: Bad Science Drives Drug War Hysteria http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0275.html
Alert: Bad Science Drives Drug War Hysteria
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Comment #17 posted by E_Johnson on September 07, 2003 at 11:10:17 PT
Maybe this will wake up the science community
People in the science community consider themselves pretty well informed but the sad fact is, most scientists are not well informed on drug war issues. Now maybe they will start taking the trouble to become informed, now that the AAAS has been so horribly embarassed by the agenda-driven leadership of Alan Leshner.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on September 07, 2003 at 09:53:04 PT
You're Welcome ekim
I will be watching Farm-Aid today when it starts at 4. I went ahead and downloaded the required Media Player. I hope it works but if it doesn't it will be on PBS on Thanksgiving Evening!Here's the press release.Farm Aid 2003 Presented by Silk Soymilk to be Telecast on PBS Thanksgiving EveningPublished: September 7, 2003COLUMBUS, Ohio, U.S. Newswire -- After Americans have enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner, they'll have a chance to enjoy great music and learn why family farming is essential to keeping quality food on their tables. Farm Aid announced today that Farm Aid 2003 Presented by Silk Soymilk will be telecast as a 2-hour special on Thanksgiving evening, Nov. 27. The program will air in prime time, reaching TV viewers across America."What more appropriate time than Thanksgiving, America's own holiday, to express our gratitude for those who produce our food," said Carolyn Mugar, Farm Aid executive director. Farm Aid also announced "10 Ways to Ensure Healthy Food for You and Your Family". These are concrete steps that consumers can take to protect access to fresh, healthful food, grown in local communities by family farmers who care for the land. "For the past 18 years, Farm Aid has worked to make sure consumers have a choice to put fresh, healthful food, produced by family farmers, on their tables," said Farm Aid President Willie Nelson. "One thing I've learned is that real change will come from the 100 percent of Americans who eat, not just the one percent who farm." American family farmers are doing their part by traveling from the concert in Columbus to Cancun, Mexico, to attend the World Trade Organization Ministerial. They will take with them a joint declaration on agricultural trade, signed by over two dozen leading U.S. farm, labor, development, environmental, religious, and consumer organizations, that outlines specific demands for action."I'm going to the WTO meeting in Mexico to say that family farmers need farm and trade policies that keep them on their land-here and around the world," said George Naylor, president, National Family Farm Coalition. "Family farmers deserve policies that ensure that farmers receive a fair price from the market."For the first time Farm Aid will Web cast the concert live exclusively on: http://www.farmaid.org The Web cast will begin at 4 p.m. EDT. At the concert, family farmers and their supporters joined Willie Nelson, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Brooks & Dunn, Emmylou Harris, Hootie & the Blowfish, Trick Pony, Billy Bob Thornton, Daniel Lanois, Los Lonely Boys, Titty Bingo and Aaron Brotherton. Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land. Dave Matthews joined the Farm Aid board of directors in 2001. Farm Aid has raised more than $24 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture. Through public education and grants, Farm Aid supports national, regional and local efforts to promote sustainable agriculture, fight factory farms, advocate for fair farm prices, and provide credit counseling and direct assistance to farm families.Farm Aid is proudly sponsored by Silk Soymilk, Paul Newman of Newman's Own and Newman's Own Organics, Chipotle, Organic Valley Family of Farms, QAI International, J&J Distributing, Horizon Organic, Annie's Homegrown, Smuckers Organic, American Apparel, Kettle Foods, L. Coulter-Jones Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bernstein, United Food and Commercial Workers Union.Those who wish to help America's family farmers can visit: http://www.farmaid.org to make a donation.http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=991-09072003
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Comment #15 posted by Dankhank on September 07, 2003 at 08:45:50 PT
cannabis ministry
I received a package from Roger and the ministry.Their site offers help.I think someone has to start a ministry, since few have, to date.It would likely involve studying the local state regs and perhaps consulting a lawyer.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on September 07, 2003 at 08:34:43 PT
Dankhank
Maybe they can make it work. I don't know. There are no churches around where I live that believe as they do. I wish them good luck though! 
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Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on September 07, 2003 at 08:34:20 PT:
"Mislabelled vials"...
...or was it the threat of exposure from within that forced the retraction?Friends, ask yourself this question: if it hadn't been for such 'maverick' science groups like MAPS pushing at the boundaries and sticking up for REAL science by challenging this study, do you think the retraction would have taken place? Given how politicized science has become under this Mal-Administration?I have to wonder whether it was some brave lab assistant somewhere who brought this to the attention of the higher ups long ago...and has probably been fired for his or her pains. It's par for the course for US government run science, nowadays. Lying and fudging data is okey-dokey so long as it serves 'national security' - and justifies continuing a manifestly Lost Cause like the DrugWar.
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Comment #12 posted by Dankhank on September 07, 2003 at 08:23:45 PT:
cannabis ministry
I believe you know of this, FOMhttp://www.thc-ministry.org/I believe they have made it work ..
Hemp N Stuff
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Comment #11 posted by ekim on September 06, 2003 at 21:00:53 PT
thanks for posting farmaid FoM
please to anyone going to this event. if you feel that Dennis is speaking to you. take information back with you as it is highly unlikely that you will see any in your home town. you could be the first to bring his name up to many. and someone needs to have the info to show. many towns now have fairs at the fair the dems and gop have set up shop and do not have every candadates info someone needs to get it out and to the people. nuffsaid
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Comment #10 posted by John Tyler on September 06, 2003 at 20:20:34 PT
research lies and abuse
It makes me ill to think that we have Doctors such as these working at a respectable institution mistreating animals so shamefully all in the name of "junk science" to please some Federal agency with preconceived results. These Doctors should be demoted to cage cleaners. 
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Comment #9 posted by ekim on September 06, 2003 at 20:18:43 PT
ya and biden said on Bill Mahar 
that tom delaay set him up on the rave act ----------with these cooked numbers on poor unsuspecting living things. speed mislabled what a sham == and not one lab tech saw signs that something was a miss. like hell someone knew. ====hey joe do your homework get inthe trenches like the dj from la said.
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Comment #8 posted by mayan on September 06, 2003 at 17:38:36 PT
Unrelated...
But this could be huge...Meacher sparks fury over claims on 9/11 and Iraq war!
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12956,1036591,00.htmlRealplayer of BBC Meacher 9/11 Claims:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/audio/39306000/rm/_39306222_meacher08_meacher.ram US may have let 9/11 attacks to happen: Ex-UK minister
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_364900,00050003.htmJUST 3 MONTHS BEFORE 9/11, TIME MAGAZINE WAS ISSUING WARNINGS THAT OSAMA WOULD USE REMOTELY PILOTED AIRCRAFT AS TERROR WEAPONS: 
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,131866,00.html9/11 - Two Events in Berlin Question Official Story:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/archive/scoop/stories/68/5f/200309051115.e91bd6ba.htmlThe Unanswered Questions Of 9/11:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/archive/scoop/stories/7a/ab/200309051116.fb0f238e.html'DC 9/11' is too pro-Bush, and too late:
http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2003/09/06/dc_911_is_too_pro_bush_and_too_late/THE VIDEO THAT PROVES 9/11 WAS NOT A SURPRISE:
http://whatreallyhappened.com/schoolvideo.htmlTHE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN!!!
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Comment #7 posted by The GCW on September 06, 2003 at 17:02:18 PT
HEMP: NATURE'S FORGOTTEN NUTRACEUTICAL 
(I hear You, FoM. I did not associate having respect for My religeous beliefs to having attend a church. I am glad I asked though, because it helps Me understand the implications... I did not know a church is necessary. There are churches that mandate and / or use cannabis, but not near Me. Also, I might not wish to attend the church but still should have the freedom to use cannabis, while I pray and study.)Anyway, this just got posted at MAP, FROM: Alive: Canadian Journal of Health and Nutrition.http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n000/a311.html?397HEMP: NATURE'S FORGOTTEN NUTRACEUTICAL That the hemp plant is used as food initially surprises and confuses most people. The public information system has largely restricted knowledge of hemp to its use in making rope and cloth from the fibre of the plant, and paper from the plant stalk. Yet both the oldest Chinese agricultural treatise, the Xia Xiao Zheng, written around 1600 BC, and other Chinese records discuss hemp as one of the major grain crops grown in ancient China. The cultivation and use of hemp ( Cannabis sativa ) has also been documented by many other ancient civilizations, including India, Sumeria, Babylonia, Persia, Egypt, Europe, the Aztec and Mayan civilizations of South America, and native cultures in North America. Over thousands of years, hemp has followed humankind throughout the world--or vice versa. Grown legally in Canada since 1998, it is making a comeback as a highly sustainable crop that grows easily in the Canadian climate, providing both health and environmental benefits. The strains of hemp used for food have been naturally selected to produce little of the psychoactive substance delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC ) found in marijuana. And since the most modern handling and shelling of the seed minimizes its contact with leaf resins, the shelled seed itself and the oil, nut butter and other foods prepared from it have THC concentrations as low as one part per million to nondetectible. The shelled seed, or "hemp seed nut," is the most basic hemp seed product. Other major hemp food products are hemp seed nut butter ( which resembles peanut and other nut butters ), cold-pressed hemp seed oil and hemp seed flour. These can be consumed alone or used with, or instead of, other grains, seeds, nuts and oils in any appropriate recipe. Hemp fats While hemp seed is an excellent source of protein that also contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, its most important feature is that it provides both essential fatty acids ( EFAs ) needed in the human diet--linoleic ( omega-6 fatty acid ) and alpha-linolenic acid ( omega-3 ). These fats are "essential" because they cannot be manufactured in the body and so must be consumed as food. Hemp has an omega-6/omega-3 ratio of 3.38, which is closest to the optimum 4.0 average recommended by the World Health Organization for the human diet. Hemp for heart health EFAs are essential for the health of the heart. Numerous studies show that substituting healthy polyunsaturated fats such as hemp for saturated fats can reduce the risk of sudden cardiac arrest and fatal cardiac arrhythmia, as well as reduce blood cholesterol levels and decrease the cellular buildup in arteries associated with atherosclerosis. Hemp also contains phytosterols, which have been shown to reduce total blood cholesterol by an average of 10 per cent and low-density lipoprotein ( LDL ) cholesterol by an average of 13 per cent. Hemp for brain health Because EFAs make up a large portion of the brain, hemp is especially beneficial for brain health, particularly memory function. Membrane loss of EFAs has been found in such disorders as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Research has shown that a diet with a proper balance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids--such as in hemp oil--may help delay or reduce the neurological effects of these diseases and improve quality of life. Hemp for skin health The critical importance of EFAs for healthy skin makes hemp seed oil a highly effective skin care and cosmetic product. Its lipid constituents allow it to permeate through the skin and nourish skin cells directly. For this reason, hemp oil is beneficial for skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis. For the health of skin and hair, nourishing and balancing hemp oil is now added to a multitude of soaps, shampoos, skin lotions, lip balms, conditioners and other natural skin-care products. The Chinese and other great civilizations of the world valued this plant for its marvellous versatility. Let us rediscover its forgotten health benefits. If properly understood and accepted, hemp can resume its rightful role in nourishing the body and preventing disease. References available on request. Dr. Tanelian has held academic and professorial positions in neuroscience, neurology and biomedical engineering at Stanford University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He has written and published more than 100 peer-reviewed medical and scientific articles, and currently conducts research in clinical nutrition and clinical biochemistry as related to major disease states. 
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 06, 2003 at 16:44:08 PT
The GCW
Maybe it could help. I'm not sure. If someone believes that Cannabis is used in worship and has a church ( I would think a church building and congregation would be necessary ) it very well could but I really am only guessing.
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on September 06, 2003 at 16:24:12 PT
Will this news help Us?
US: CO: Court says church can use hallucinogenic tea 
URL: 
Newshawk: The GCW
Pubdate: Sept. 5, 2003 
Source: Daily Camera (CO)
Contact: openforum thedailycamera.com
Copyright: 2002 The Daily Camera.
Website: http://www.thedailycamera.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/103
Author: 
Viewed at: http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/state_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2419_2235374,00.html
 
Court says church can use hallucinogenic tea
 
By Associated PressSeptember 5, 2003 DENVER — A New Mexico church was handed a small victory Thursday when a federal appeals court ruled its use of hallucinogenic tea was likely to be protected under freedom of religion laws. The ruling, issued by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, upheld a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Attorney General, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other government agencies that sought to prohibit the tea's use. The appeals court agreed with the U.S. District Court in New Mexico that the Brazil-based O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal church had "demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success" of winning an exemption for sacramental use of the tea, which contains a drug barred by the Controlled Substances Act. Jeffrey Bronfman, president of the church, sued the Justice Department after 30 gallons of hoasca tea were seized by U.S. Customs agents from his office in Santa Fe, N.M. No one was arrested in the 1999 raid. Hoasca tea, used in some religious ceremonies, is brewed from plants found only in the Amazon River Basin. The church originated in Brazil, and its U.S. operations are based in Santa Fe. About 130 people, many of them Brazilian citizens, are members of the U.S. branch, according to court documents. (coming to the MAP archive)
 
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on September 06, 2003 at 14:39:08 PT
Upcoming Event: Farm Aid Live
Get Ready form FARM AID 2003 Presented by Silk Soymilk! http://farmaid.com/event/Farm Aid 2003 LIVE Webcast!There are only two ways to see the Farm Aid 2003 Presented by Silk Soymilk concert live. 1. Being there in Columbus, Ohio (but it’s all sold out!)  OR2. Being here at: http://www.farmaid.org where you can watch it from your home! Farm Aid 2003 Presented by Silk Soymilk, will be webcast live RIGHT HERE! Straight from Columbus, Ohio to your home! Come back here on Sunday, September 7th, at 4pm ET and see live performances by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Sheryl Crow, Brooks & Dunn, Emmylou Harris and others. You must be at a computer equipped with Windows Media 9 Player to view the webcast. The Windows Media 9 Player is available for free from: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmediahttp://farmaid.com/event/conc/webcast.asp
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Comment #3 posted by charmed quark on September 06, 2003 at 11:36:31 PT
But the "study"results will never die ...
Betcha that the DEA will still refer to the study years from now when they lobby against any attempts to modify the laws against estacy.Just like they still refer to the cannabis study showing brain damage in monkeys, even though it was shown that they basically forced so much smoke into them that they got the damage from lack of oxygen.-Pete
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 06, 2003 at 10:12:17 PT
This is Really Unbelievable
Those poor monkeys and baboons dieing from a Methamphetamine overdose. What a horrible death it must have been. All this for nothing. Does it stop people from experimenting with drugs? NO! It does not! How will anyone know when a government funded study is correct? How?
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on September 06, 2003 at 09:55:49 PT
Fire Alan Leshner
He is destroying the credibility of American science.
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