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Ask any long-term user who knows others, and the long-term effects are plain to see, but many consider that on the balance they don't mind.

In the UK, it looks like this happy pill (that costs less than a pint of beer) will be lowered from Class A to Class B - good news for the 500,000 regular users.

Enough time has finally elapsed to start asking if ecstasy damages health in the long term. According to the biggest review ever undertaken, it causes slight memory difficulties and mild depression, but these rarely translate into problems in the real world. While smaller studies show that some individuals have bigger problems, including weakened immunity and larger memory deficits, so far, for most people, ecstasy seems to be nowhere near as harmful over time as you may have been led to believe.

The review was carried out by the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), an independent body that advises the UK government on drug policy. Its headline recommendation is that, based on its harmfulness to individuals and society, MDMA should be downgraded from a class A drug - on a par with heroin and cocaine - to class B, alongside cannabis.
More at New Scientist

Labels: ecstasy