Ecstasy : The Complete Guide : A Comprehensive Look at the Risks and Benefits of MDMA (Paperback)

by Julie Holland M.D. (Editor)
Key Phrases: spiritual practice, dance community, feeling enhancers, United States, Cause Brain Damage, Human Volunteers (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Holland, an attending psychiatrist at New York's Bellevue Hospital and an authority on street drugs, here compiles articles from numerous experts on Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (also known as MDMA, Adam, and Ecstasy). She succeeds admirably in her twofold goal of providing complete, reliable information to recreational users and educating the public about potential clinical uses for the drug. MDMA was used as an adjunct to psychotherapy for over a decade until the Drug Enforcement Administration classified it as a Schedule I drug in 1985. It then went underground and is today increasingly popular as a party drug. After looking at MDMA's history, pharmacology, and legal status, the text discusses its potential clinical uses in the treatment of such psychiatric conditions as depression, schizophrenia, and posttraumatic stress syndrome. Various chapters also address MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, current international research, and political issues. Finally, risks of recreational use and ways to mitigate them are discussed. Well researched yet written in very understandable language, this volume makes a strong case for studying and legalizing MDMA for therapeutic purposes, without minimizing the potential dangers of abuse. An important contribution to the literature on illegal drugs; highly recommended for all public and academic libraries. Eris Weaver, Redwood Health Lib., Petaluma, CA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
A comprehensive tome, this book offers something for nearly anyone interested in substance use and abuse, regardless of their perspective. -- T.D. DeLapp, Choice, May 2002

An important contribution to the literature on illegal drugs.... -- Eris Weaver, Library Journal, September 15, 2001

Ecstasy: The Complete Guide offers a thoroughly engaging, multifaceted look at a very controversial substance. Well done. -- Spalding Gray, actor, performer, and author of Morning, Noon, and Night and Impossible Vacation

In an important addition to literature. -- Library Journal, May 1, 2002

It's heartening to read such a thorough and balanced book. -- Jon Hanna, High Times, February 2002

MDMA is a unique compound with great potential for positive use. This is the most complete book about it. -- Andrew Weil, M.D., author of 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, and Spontaneous Healing

The most thorough book about MDMA around, with contributions from a host of physicians, chemists and research scientists. -- The Book Reader, Spring/Summer 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Park Street Press; 1 edition (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892818573
• ISBN-13: 978-0892818570
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #188,350 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #41 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Medical > Pharmacology > Pain Medicine
  #61 in	Books > Science > Medicine > Pharmacology > Pain Medicine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most comprehensive book there is on the topic of MDMA, January 6, 2004

By	"ashpaykher" (San Antonio, Texas) - See all my reviews

This book is excellent.

It is very well written and can be easily read by lay persons as well as being a great source of information for health professionals (researchers, psychologists, psychiatrists,and all MDs.)

All of the important people in the field of MDMA research and history (Sasha and Ann Shulgin, Rick Doblin, among others) are either interviewed or have written chapters in the book.
The book is very informative and gives the extreme potential of this unique chemical. It is written by one of the most respected experts on MDMA.

This book is as objective as can be. Possible risks of MDMA use as well as the possible benefits are discussed in detail.

It is a must read for anyone interested in the topic of MDMA/ecstasy.

All royalties from the sale of this book will go toward funding clinical MDMA research.

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best review of Ecstasy , May 2, 2005

By	rhynchosaur - See all my reviews

 One should start by putting things in perspective. The following background is necessary not only for all studies of psychoactive drugs, but for all studies of human behavior.
 There were about 400,000 USA deaths due to tobacco, 100,000 each to alcohol and prescription drugs and about 7600 to aspirin and other OTC painkillers. Worldwide we can expect that the figures will be about 10 million for tobacco, 2.5 million each for others and about 200,000 for aspirin and OTC painkillers. There may be 1 million people in the world with fetal alcohol syndrome(severe brain damage due to maternal drinking) and it is the leading cause of mental retardation in most countries.  There are also at least 15 million people who have fetal alcohol effect(lesser degrees of brain damage) with about 200,000 born every year. I suspect this is a gross underestimate.

 None of the psychedelics nor cannabis are known to produce fetal injury when taken in normal amounts.  All things considered, if you calculated the lifetime risks of death or injury from taking ecstasy, it is probably comparable to that of driving ten km and significantly less than that of putting on a pair of skis.

In addition, the young people who comprise the vast majority of the users are heavy risk takers, a very percentage of whom have personality disorders.  There are about 60 million schizophrenics and the same number of manic depressives in the world.  When you add the depressives, schizotypal disorders, anorexics, alcoholics etc it is clear that perhaps a billion people have major mental problems, nearly half of all those are in the prime drug taking ages. In addition nearly all of us have periodic mood swings, medical problems and personal crises. 

 Based on various data in this book and elsewhere,  it appears that about 20 million people will take something like 200 million pills of ecstasy each  year.  In 1998 there were about 9 deaths POSSIBLY connected with ecstasy in the USA. These seem to actually be due to drinking too much or too little water and likely to taking large amounts of other drugs or alcohol.    Ecstasy deaths(like those for marijuana and other psychedelics) are extremely rare and seldom if ever due to the direct toxicity--the psychedelics having some the widest margins between the effective and the toxic doses of any drugs in medicine. 

 The fact is there was enough data to prove the psychedelics were safe and therapeutically effective 25 years ago.  If they were available OTC or perhaps even on prescription with the same general indications as say, antibiotics, the black market and adulterated drugs would quickly fade away.

 It is not clear that anyone has ever had serious permanent mental problems due to taking ecstasy(though they often have serious permanent benefits) and its potential as a therapeutic agent are enormous. It has a long and remarkable history as a highly effective and safe therapeutic adjunct.  Nevertheless, as with many other psychedelic drugs, the federal government has chosen to ignore medical advice and legal opinion and classify it with heroin as a Schedule 1 drug with no recognized medical value and the governments of many other countries have followed along like trained dogs. 
This book aims to provide accurate information on all aspects of MDMA(ecstasy) and it accomplishes this quite well. 

 The authors mostly try very hard to be fair and balanced in their approaches and are mostly experts in the field.  They caution about the difficulty of applying the data on animals to humans but they often do not go far enough in emphasizing the probable irrelevance of the animal data to humans.  E.G., in the chapter on risks, not only do most of the animals get large amounts intravenously, but there are no good control data.  We need to see what happens with the same animals with the same routes and relative doses with a variety of commonly used medicines(eg, antidepressants, mood elevators, asthmatics, appetite depressants, cold medicines, OTC pain pills etc etc. Will they, as one suspects, show similar changes in their brain chemistry, memory, blood flow etc?  Nobody knows as the government sponsored studies almost never test them.  We can only guess from scattered data in other studies which often show the same kinds of changes.  Consequently, if we applied the same criteria used for Prozac, Elavil, aspirin etc  we would either have to outlaw nearly all the drugs in current medical use or legalize all the psychedelics. However the government has no interest in being rational, fair or even sane and certainly none in allowing us the freedoms supposedly guaranteed by the Consititution, and the Bill of Rights. 

 Wantly badly to err on the side of caution, several of the authors repeatedly warn(eg, p111) of the possibility of subtle long term damage yet they seem unconcerned by some half century of massive long term use of antidepressants, amphetamines, etc to say nothing of alcohol, caffeine and nicotine.  And only one bothers to mention(p 139) that a half century of studies on chronic users(often intravenous and multidrug abusers) of the closely related amphetamine and methamphetamine have failed to show evidence of Parkinsonism. And let us keep in mind that about 99% of all the MDMA fans use it only a few times in their lives in low oral doses.  The same is true of most other psychedelics and so it seems likely that the only long term behavioural effects in the vast majority of users will be some increase in insight, less rigid personalities, broader interests in art, music, religion and a generally happier life.

 The young people who comprise the vast majority of the users are heavy risk takers, a very high percentage of whom have personality disorders.  There are about 60 million schizophrenics and the same number of manic depressives in the world.  When you add the depressives, schizotypal disorders, anorexics, alcholics etc it is clear that perhaps a billion people have major mental problems - nearly half of all those are in the prime drug taking ages. In addition nearly all of us have periodic mood swings, medical problems and personal crises.  In addition as some of the authors note (and as Holland often interjects in her editoral notes) the ecstasy users are usually taking other drugs before, during and after their ecstasy(and marijuana and other psychedelic experiences).    These include, almost universally, alcohol, tobacco and caffeine(which are almost always ignored) as well as cocaine, amphetamine and methamphetamine, ketamine, dextromethorphan, asthmatics, and a wide variety or uppers, downers and prescription mood altering agents including birth control pills and Viagra, to say nothing of the steroids now approaching universal use in professional athletes in all sports(no the new ones cannot generally be detected).  Yet as Holland and others note, these other drugs are usually not mentioned and a really good drug screen on the users appearing in clinics or used in studies is seldom done.  The point of all this is that the claim that ecstasy is dangerous is not correct(and other psychedelics are mostly the same).  It's probable that skiing kills and injures more people in one season(most in car accidents!) or tobacco or alcohol in one day, than all psychedelics combined have done since the beginning of recorded history.  Thus the demonizing of them does not correspond with reality.  In fact since more than 99% of all media on MDMA is negative it would be reasonable and desireable to remove all the comments on possible negative effects from this book and publish it as MDMA: miracle medicine for the 21st century! 

 Billions of dollars have been spent on studies ánd programs aimed at showing that psychedelics are bad and almost nothing on their many positive effects. In fact most of the world has(naturally) followed the poorly educated, deeply repressed, conservative Christians who control the US Govt. in outlawing, for over 30 years, any medical use and any research that might show benefits!  The vast amount of practical experience with their benefits cannot even be published and the tens(maybe hundreds) of millions who have had major positive experiences cannot talk about them.  Its clear as day that the only serious problem with ecstasy is that it is new and it triggers the control and maybe the contamination templates in the monkey mind. 

 The evidence presented here shows that MDMA is very safe, rarely illusionogenic(though most authors follow the common practice of calling visual effects hallucinations, which they defintely are not).  Hallucinations-eg, seeing and hearing persons who are not there- are characteristic of schizophrenia, toxic psychoses, belladonoids(eg datura), and dissociative anesthethics(PCP, ketamine).  They are so rare with psychedelics that one suspects that nearly all such cases are due to preexisting psychosis.  MDMA probably belongs(with a variety of other drugs invented by Shulgin) in a new class called entactogens.  These are unique in that in addition to catalyzing positive emotions and bonding, they are rapidly acting, nonsedating anxiolytics(decrease anxiety), anaesthetics(pain killers) and antidepressants(which take days or weeks to act in comparison with minutes for MDMA!) with remarkably few and mild side effects(in dramatic contrast with nearly all medical drugs which have severe side effects that are often fatal).

 There is along chapter devoted to the toxicity data on rats and monkeys usually dosed intravenously and chronically with huge amounts and to reports on chronic, high dose often IV multiple drug abusers, probably with a high incidence of preexisting mental adn physical problems.  Only Holland's desire for completeness justifies the inclusion of such data in this book.  It has about as much relevance to the occasional oral use by the vast majority of MDMA users as the study of chronic alcoholics has to the description of a dinner party where 2 people consume a bottle of wine. 

 Jansen(p 87,89) is afraid of this self medication at home and expecially at raves(massive all night music events)without a therapist but probably over 100 million people in the last 40 years have taken some 2 billion trips with LSD, MDMA, MDA, mescaline, peyote, amanita, psilocybin mushrooms, ketamine and many other psychedelics with amazingly little evidence of negative effects. And of course, syrian rue, amanita muscaria, peyote and other cacti, pitruri, datura, ayahuasca and countless other plants have been consumed in hundreds of societies for thousands and likely for tens of thousands of years, giving rise to much of our art, music and religion, with hardly a trace of tradition regarding bad effects, which people were usually quick to notice and avoid.  And, as Jansen(the author of an excellent recent book on ketamine)notes, nobody writes up, or sends to the media, reports of positive effects. 

 One way to look at the really big picture is to call on our modern knowledge of cognitive and evolutionary psychology which tells us that the foundations of human behavior are the result of the mechanical, unconscious functioning of the inference engines or templates that were evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago(or millions or tens or hundreds of millions depending on one's point of view) to enable small bands of primates to survive long enough to reproduce.  These templates take in all the info from the eyes, ears, etc. and memory and produce feelings or intuitions about how one should behave to optimize survival.  However templates for control, predator avoidance, contamination, etc which were so rational in a small group on the African savanna(or in the trees a few million years earlier) are totally irrational and and even suicidal now.  Relentlessly, and in agonizing slow motion, 6 billion people are following the dictates of their templates while the biosphere and what passes for civilization collapses around them. The devious, power mad, repressed and unconscious persons who gravitate to positions of power in government, military, religion, industry and academia are orchestrating the end of the world while their like-minded constituents cheer wildly.  It is these people and not the psychedelic users who are the criminals.

 Ecstasy and other psychedelics, preferably combined with various kinds of meditation and other physical and mental therapies have a major potential to help people to break free from the automatisms that have guided behavior for millions of years. Billions of people need this medicine to avoid a lifetime of suffering and unhappiness and often, suicide.  Let us hope that it holds the answer as there does not seem to be any other and let us hurry--time is running out. 

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, October 26, 2003

By A Customer

This book is by far the best info/guide on MDMA. Julie Holland does an amazing job with going in-depth analysis over MDMA. I have heard others bashing her and saying that this book promotes MDMA use.. it does not. It simply states what it is all about and it actually lists everything that you could ever want to know about this popular drug. I sincerely hope that every MDMA user will read this book before getting into this.
Thanks Julie!