Re: Re: Wired: Will Genetic Engineering Kill Us?

From: Amara Graps (amara@amara.com)
Date: Tue Apr 22 2003 - 03:19:05 MDT

  • Next message: Amara Graps: "Re: Re: Wired: Will Genetic Engineering Kill Us?"

    Samantha Atkins:
    >I am not familiar with the history of the use of MDMA in
    >psychotherapy. I know that MDA was originally quite successful
    >in the treatement of alcoholism, which is what it was designed for.

    I'd have to pull out my copy of PIHKAL and look, but some words on
    its use in psychotherapy might be described in that book.

    Following a paper trail with Dr. Lester Grinspoon might shed some light,
    as well:

    http://www.maps.org/dea-mdma/pdf/0006.PDF
    Testimony of Dr. Lester Grinspoon, comparing the decision to schedule
    MDMA to the scheduling of LSD, halting potentially beneficial research,
    and discussing MDMA's promise in therapy, April 18, 1985

    Grinspoon: "MDMA appears to have some of the advantages of LSD-type
    drugs without most of the corresponding disadvantages"

    This web page shows an interesting chronology, by the way:

    Documents from the DEA Scheduling Hearing of MDMA, 1984-1988
    http://www.maps.org/dea-mdma/
    (I was especially surprised to see Nathaniel Branden on that list,
    against MDMA)

    and a summary of the results:
    http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/dll/mdma_scheduling_history.htm

    Note this part:
    "The medical community fired back. Lester Grinspoon, an associate
    professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School sued the DEA,
    seeking to invalidate MDMA's Schedule I status.[6] The federal
    circuit court that heard the case succinctly summarized the
    competing arguments: "The [DEA] Administrator reads "accepted
    [medical use]" to mean that the FDA must have approved the drug for
    interstate marketing. Dr. Grinspoon, on the other hand, prefers to
    interpret "accepted" as meaning that the medical community generally
    agrees that the drug has a medical use and can be used safely under
    medical supervision."[7]

    Martin Striz wrote:
    >> MDA was synthesized and used as a street drug in the 1960s.

    Samantha Atkins:
    >Sorry, but I knew the original researcher. It was first created
    >and used for the treatment of alcoholism.

    Cool. We knew some of the same people.

    -- 
    ********************************************************************
    Amara Graps, PhD          email: amara@amara.com
    Computational Physics     vita:  ftp://ftp.amara.com/pub/resume.txt
    Multiplex Answers         URL:   http://www.amara.com/
    ********************************************************************
    "Sometimes I think I understand everything. Then I regain
    consciousness."     --Ashleigh Brilliant
    


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