Scotsman campaigns against Ecstasy reclassification
Scotsman campaigns against Ecstasy reclassification
"Ecstasy is known to cause ... possibly long-term brain damage"
- newspeak - it either causes long term brain damage or it does
not. If it "possibly causes long-term brain damage" then the use
of the term "Ecstasy is known to cause" is obvioulsly
misleasing.
- you can forgive the other prohibitionists quoted here - at
least they are being honest. I object to a prohibitionist rant
masquerading as a news story.
- I wonder if we can get a story soon listing the names of all
the young people who have died as a result of drinking booze?
+ + + + + +
Ecstasy deaths warning as ministers poised to review drug
classification system
MICHAEL HOWIE, Thu 2 Feb 2006, Scotsman
Key points
* Review of drugs classification system expected shortly
* Grading to be based on drug's effect on society rather than
individual
* Many argue current classification sends wrong messages to drug
users
Key quote
"Ecstasy use is widespread among young people. My view is that
the drug's class A rating devalues the serious risks associated
with heroin and cocaine." - DAME RUTH RUNCIMAN, POLICE
FEDERATION REPORT AUTHOR
Story in full DOWNGRADING Ecstasy could lead to an explosion in
illegal drug-taking and more deaths among teenagers, according
to drug experts, police superintendents and campaigners.
It is widely expected the government is on the verge of
downgrading the substance as part of a root-and-branch review of
the drugs classification system ordered by Charles Clarke, the
Home Secretary.
But Scotland's leading authority on narcotics abuse, Professor
Neil McKeganey, told The Scotsman yesterday the move could lead
to "much wider" use of the drug among young people. Police said
it would send out the wrong message.
Ecstasy is currently a class A substance, carrying the highest
penalties under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Britain has the third
highest level of Ecstasy use in the world and the number of
deaths from the drug in Scotland has risen sharply in recent
years, from nine in 1996 to 17 in 2004.
Earlier this year, Mr Clarke took the controversial decision not
to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug despite increasing
evidence that users could suffer mental health problems.
Mr Clarke made it clear that other drugs, including Ecstasy,
would be looked at as part of an overhaul of the classification
scheme. He believes the system of classifying drugs as A, B or C
depending on the potential for medical harm is too limited.
Instead, he is seeking a system that considers their wider
impact on society, details of which are expected within weeks.
It is understood that would leave heroin and cocaine, which
account for the highest levels of crime and social disruption by
addicts as well as the highest death rates, in the most
dangerous category.
Prof McKeganey, of the drug misuse research unit at Glasgow
University, said downgrading Ecstasy would be a mistake and any
system of classifying drugs carried "symbolic significance"
which policymakers should be acutely aware of.
"Unquestionably, Ecstasy is not as dangerous as heroin - it
kills far fewer people - so you might say let's move Ecstasy
down in the grading," he said. "However, many more people use
Ecstasy than heroin so moving it down will give out the message
that we shouldn't be as concerned about the drug as we used to
be. Such a move might precipitate much wider use."
He added: "Some people look at the medical harm and say it
should be downgraded. But if you look at the impact on society,
Ecstasy should remain at the most serious end of the scale."
The professor said Ecstasy had been used by about 215,000 people
in Scotland, 44,000 in the past 12 months. Its use is highest
among 25-29-year-olds.
He added: "There have never been deaths associated with cannabis
but there have been Ecstasy deaths. The fact is it has the
potential to kill."
Tom Buchan, president of the Association of Scottish Police
Superintendents, said: "We have seen deaths from Ecstasy use and
there is growing evidence it can cause psychiatric problems in
later life. It is not something to be treated anything other
than very seriously. Anything that is perceived as a downgrading
of the drug would send out the wrong message."
Phyllis Woodlock, from Motherwell, whose 13-year-old son,
Andrew, died after taking Ecstasy, said: "Changing the
classification of Ecstasy would send out the wrong message. You
don't know what's in it and one pill can kill."
However, Dame Ruth Runciman, who wrote a Police Foundation
report in 2000 on illegal drugs which pre-empted the
reclassification of cannabis, said keeping Ecstasy in the most
serious category of illegal drugs encouraged young people to
experiment with heroin and cocaine. She added: "Ecstasy use is
widespread among young people. My view is that the drug's class
A rating devalues the serious risks associated with heroin and
cocaine."
A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said the classification
of drugs such as Ecstasy was "to some extent a red herring" as
they were all illegal. Ministers acknowledged Ecstasy was "a
dangerous drug" and the Executive's Know The Score campaign made
the risks associated with taking it clear, he added.
One dose can cause brain swelling or death
THE chemical term for Ecstasy is MDMA, a form of amphetamine.
"Eccies" are often cut with a range of substances, including
ketamine and added amphetamine (speed).
MDMA acts on a brain chemical called serotonin, engendering a
feeling of euphoria and enhancing physical sensations.
Ecstasy is known to cause a range of health problems among
users, including hepatitis, liver failure, paranoia and possibly
long-term brain damage. MDMA can also prove fatal. A few people
are particularly chemically sensitive to the drug and just one
dose can kill them.
Some of those who have suffered liver failure have required
liver transplants, but the transplants have not always been
successful. Other fatalities associated with MDMA have been due
to an overdose.
The most common cause of Ecstasy-related death, however, is due
to the body overheating, leading to extreme heatstroke. While
clubbers are advised to drink water to counter this effect,
imbibing too much can itself be fatal, causing a swelling of the
brain.
Up to 80 per cent of the MDMA consumed worldwide originates in
illicit laboratories in the Netherlands and Belgium, the main
sources of Ecstasy found in the UK.
Some of these laboratories are understood to have relocated to
eastern European countries, such as Romania.
Surveys indicate that Britain is one of the largest markets for
Ecstasy. It is estimated that between 500,000 and two million
tablets are consumed in the UK each week.
Criminals have been known to use security staff at clubs and
pubs to control the sale of Ecstasy by determining who can
distribute them on the premises. The price of the drug has
roughly halved in the last decade and today can be purchased for
as little as £3 a pill.
* Gavin Smith, 17, died from acute Ecstasy poisoning after his
brother gave him tablets in May 2004 at his girlfriend's home in
Stranraer.
* Scott McSephney, 20, died when his best friend gave him free
Ecstasy at a party in Dalmellington, Ayrshire, in December 2003.
* Julia Dawes, 18, a fitness instructor from a wealthy
Perthshire family, died in 1998 after taking Ecstasy at a
friend's party.
* Andrew Woodlock, 13, became Scotland's youngest person to die
from the drug in 1997. He was found slumped in a field near his
Lanarkshire home six years ago after taking Ecstasy and died
five days later.
* Michelle Paul, 15, from Aberdeen, died of liver failure after
taking a half-tablet of Ecstasy at a rave in 1995.
* Leah Betts died in 1995 after her 18th birthday party in
Essex. Leah's deathbed picture was used in a drug campaign.
date: Thu, 02 Feb 2006 06:04:16 GMT
author: Jasbird
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