Canadian Cops’ Ecstasy Death Wish Slammed
Breaking Bad (click for more)
British Columbia police who refused to reveal details of a rogue batch of ecstasy linked to five deaths were roundly criticized this week, for risking the lives of more people.
Specific pills containing PMMA have been linked to the deaths of three men and two women since the beginning of last year, though BC police spokesperson Lisa Lapointe told reporters they were refraining from posting photos online.
“We don’t want to give the impression that these are the tablets that are risky, and other tablets are safe,” she told reporters, “At any time, any tablet can be contaminated with anything.” (Huffington Post: http://huff.to/AukIc7 )
Civil liberties campaigner Scott Morgan described their response as ‘sick logic’.
“Listen, if you don’t want people to think you’re sanctioning the other pills, then say something like, “we’re not sanctioning the other pills.” What’s so hard about that? But for the sake of saving human lives, at least tell people what the poison pills look like,” the DRC.net expert urged.
“Drug users are people, you know. They don’t want to kill their friends. If everyone knows what the poisoned pills look like, they can help get them off the street,” he said.
1988 TV documentary on London raves
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a World in Action 30 minute program about raving in London in 1988……
No Sex Please, We’re Ravers
Click to buy Ecstasy Reconsidered (Amazon)
European psychologists who examined links between house music and MDMA have concluded that the rise in popularity of both ecstasy and raving resulted from the AIDS epidemic which killed so many nightlife characters in the first half of the 80s.
“Some musical styles seem to depend on drugs for their very right of existence: reggae is invariably associated with marijuana and electronic dance music (rave, house, techno) with ecstasy”, Professor. Dr. Dirk J. Korf and Prof. Dr. Alfred Springer noted in their report ‘Markets, Methods, and Messages: Dynamics in European Drug Research’.
“The new musical style (house music) arose in the era of HIV and AIDS,” they continued, “The driving beat of electronic music, coupled with the drug -induced ecstatic high on the dance floor, resonated perfectly with the quest for bodily pleasure without dangerous sex …” http://bit.ly/yrtVYJ
Their findings matched the conclusions of deceased British MDMA expert Nicholas Saunders who in his seminal 1993 book E is For Ecstasy identified similar forces as popularizing rave culture.
“Behaviour at raves during the first few years, at events where nearly everyone was on E, was very different to that at alcohol-based clubs, and seemed to follow from the lack of male sexual aggression,” he noted.
“Hugging and even caressing strangers was acceptable on a sensual level without implying a sexual advance. Ravers would have a sense of belonging at any club or event where others were on E.”
He also identified earlier research by British scientist Sheila Henderson who writing in 1992 said for many revellers, raves provided a safer environment, particularly for females.
“Women can even enjoy snogging at raves because it is ‘safe’ – not a prelude to having sex. They are less likely to have casual sex following a night raving than after going to an alcohol-based club,” she said.
“As one girl put it, “you don’t go to a rave to cop”. In fact, sexual safety is an attraction at raves in contrast with alcohol-based clubs which are seen as a cattle market.”
E is for Ecstasy: read it here: http://bit.ly/wCbpAI
Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff
Drug Tests Proposed to Reduce Ecstasy Danger
Drug expert Professor David Nutt and the Daily Telegraph called for ecstasy testing to be introduced in the UK after two more young clubbers died after taking pills at raves at London’s Alexander Palace (on consecutive nights.
Telegraph columnist Andrew M Brown pointed out that many middle-aged adults took ecstasy in their youth, confessing ‘we’ve lived through it, we’ve had children, many of us, and now we want those children to be safe from needless harm’.
“I know it would be best if young people took no illegal drugs, but we should surely deal with the world as it is, not as we would like it to be,” he suggested. “That way, we might avoid at least some of the tragedies.” (Telegraph; http://tgr.ph/vMCOcU )
Ecstasy expert Professor David Nutt questioned police suggestions that both deaths were caused by a ‘rogue batch’ or ecstasy and called for a knowledge-based approach based on pill testing to reduce future tragedies.
“We need to abandon the current government approach that relies on fear of harms underpinned by ignorance of what drugs users are taking as the prime approach,” the Professor urged.
“This has failed, and will continue to do so, for young people are relatively uninterested in possible threats to health. It may even make things worse as often young drugs users are fearful of seeking medical help for themselves or their friends because of the real threat of police prosecution,” he noted. (Guardian; http://bit.ly/v5qeM0 )
Drugs expert Danny Kushlick from Transform reflected that the chances of serving British politicians even considering such measures are virtually zero however, in an interview with Irish website thejournal.ie in which he noted that ‘‘alternative views cannot be tolerated’.
“It is instructive to look at the drug policy trajectory of two world leaders – Barack Obama and David Cameron. Both are former users of illegal drugs and both held reform positions before they reached high office,” the drugs charity’s head of External Affairs noted, “Once in high office their views apparently shifted to more hawkish, populist positions.” (Transform: http://bit.ly/vzZKao )
Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff
Drug Tests Proposed to Reduce Ecstasy Danger
Click to access Transform
Drug expert Professor David Nutt and the Daily Telegraph called for ecstasy testing to be introduced in the UK after two more young clubbers died after taking pills at raves at London’s Alexander Palace (on consecutive nights.
Telegraph columnist Andrew M Brown pointed out that many middle-aged adults took ecstasy in their youth, confessing ‘we’ve lived through it, we’ve had children, many of us, and now we want those children to be safe from needless harm’.
“I know it would be best if young people took no illegal drugs, but we should surely deal with the world as it is, not as we would like it to be,” he suggested. “That way, we might avoid at least some of the tragedies.” (Telegraph; http://tgr.ph/vMCOcU )
