210 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
210 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
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"Squirming in Ecstacy"
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Editor's Note:
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This article appeared in the U.C. Santa Cruz daily newspaper
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earlier this year. It is not meant to be a factual report;
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rather, it was intended to give the reader a little general
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information about the topic.
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One night last quarter student M was innocently doing his
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homework in the Stevenson Library when he happened to look out
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the window and behold a group of about 20 students innocently
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squirming together in the lower Stevenson quad. Student M
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innocently continued to watch this spectacle, while the squirmers
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innocently continuen to squirm together for more than half an
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hour. Observers and participants alike were much satisfied with
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the event.
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"It was neat," said student M.
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"But it wasn't anything sexual," qualified student D, who
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happened to be doing the innocent squirming.
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"They were all hugging and touching each other," recalled student
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M in amazement. "It just, like, makes you really sensitive to
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epidermis," explained student A, who was also taking part in the
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inocent squirming. "All you want to do is touch each other's
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epidermis."
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Yes, this did really happen, and these are REAL students
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speaking. And no, this is not an example of what narrative
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evaluatioons do to the student' intellectual capacities. What we
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are talking about here is the drug MDMA (3,4,
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methylenedioxymethamphetamine) - or Ecstasy, as it is more
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commonly called.
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During the last year, MDMA has garnered natioonal media as the
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drug that LSD should have been. Although there is as yet no
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research concerning possible adverse longterm effects of MDMA,
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enthusiastic users already know about the drug's immediate
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effects: it induces euphoria, breaks down psychological and
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social barriers, heightens physical sensatioon, increases
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emotional receptivity, and generally fosters a sense of rapport
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between people. Unlike psychedelics, however, MDMA is not
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hallucinogenic, nor does it seem to interfere with normal
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thinking and functioning. So it's reputed to offer everything
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one could want from a drug, and less. And now the ultimate
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touchy-feely drug has come to what is oft-touted as the nation's
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last sanctuary of touchy-feeliness.
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"I'd say MDMA has become the most popular drug on campus since
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the end of last year," reported student X. "Now there are at
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least eight people I've heard of who are supplying MDMA on
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campus." MDMA sells for about $7-15 for dose (125 milligrams)
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these days and is usually in the form of a white powder taken
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mxed with juice or water, though it also comes in capsule form.
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MDMA is very easy to synthesize- any chemistry major could do it-
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and rumor has it that some MDMA may even be manufactured in town.
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Apparently the preferred mode of experiencing MDMA is with
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friends, in large or small groups, and a lot of hugging and
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touching goes on.
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Surprisingly perhaps, these group encounters do not devolve (or
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evolve, depending on your point of view) into wild orgies. All
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sources reported that MDMA did not inflame their sexual
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temperaments. So much for the myth that it is an aphrodisiac.
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There seem to be two general schools of thought regarding the use
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of MDMA. Recreatioonal users turn to the drug for fun- much as
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you would jog, play poker, have a dinner party, or go camping in
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yur RV. Personal-growth users, on the other hand, use MDMA as a
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tol for personal insight.
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The recreatioonal types said mainly that MDMA is "fun," and that
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iT's not as strong as MDA. They describe MDMA as being more
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"cool" and mental, as compared to the hot, speedy, and
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bodyrocking MDA. One student even went so far as to say that
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"MDMA is a waste of time when you compare it to drugs like LSD
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and MDA... It's reputatioon is overblown. I find that it doesn't
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lead anyone to do things they couldn't do without the drug if
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they wanted to."
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Another recreatioonal type added that "the first time you take
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it, you have stars in your eyes. All you have to do is take the
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dug and sit back and let the drug take you. But later, after,
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after you've taken it 4 or 5 times, you have to get psyched up
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for it to have any real effect."
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Personal-growth types, however, are a little more nurturant of
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their practices. "I don't like those party scenes," said student
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T. "There are lots of phony people around who are trying to fake
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an experience because they've heard MDMA is the "Love Drug.'" She
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prefers to take it only with a few close friends, to enhance
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communicatioon.
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Student C thinks likewise. He first took MDMA a few weeks ago
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when he was having trouble getting along with a friend. And the
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cure worked: they were able to work out their differences.
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"Instead of always blocking and analyzing what someone is saying
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t you," he explained, "when you're on MDMA you have a much better
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communication process. You open up and understand things more
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clearly. I know that sounds really hokey to someone who hasn't
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done MDMA," he added, "but it's really true."
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Both recreational and personal growth types reported no real "bad
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trips," though a few users reported instances in which they felt
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no effect. Of the few MDMA experiences that could be ranked as
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"depressing," all occured when the person taking the drug was
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either alone, in bad company, or was in a bad mood to begin with.
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So, as with so many other drugs, the MDMA high all depends upon
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wo you take it with, and how you feel when you take it.
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Few after and side-effects were reported. One student mentioned
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occasional alcohol-like hangovers, though he attributed these to
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impure MDMA. Another student said he felt slightly anxious and
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unsettled for about one week after the fifth time he took MDMA,
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but said it could have been from something else. On the whole,
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however, most users said that not only are after-effects minimal,
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but in some cases the euphoria or insight of the high lingered
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with them for days.
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Unfortunately, there is little scientific information available
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about the effects of MDMA. Although some psychiatrists and
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therapists have been giving the drug to patients to aid
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doctor-patient rapport since the 1970's, little research has been
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done on MDMA. Once psychiatrist who has done a few of the
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published studies on the drug reported that the benefits of MDMA
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include euphoria, increased energy, greater self-esteem, and less
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use of alcohol and other drugs.
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However, MDMA is chemically quite similar to MDA and other
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methamphetamines, which are known to damage brain cells
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containing the neurotransmitters, sorotonin and dopamine.
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Serotin is involved in regulating sleep, sexual behavior, mood,
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aggression, and sensitivity to pain, while dopamine is involved
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in initiating movement. Research shows that even a single dose
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of MDA seriously debletes serotonin levels for at least two
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weeks, and methamphetamines cause the degeneration of dopamine.
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Wether MDMA has these same effects has not been determined.
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At any rate, when the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) got
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wind of the fact that MDMA had hit the streets, it immediately
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put a one-year moratorium on the drug. Until this coming June,
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then, MDMA will be classified as a Schedule 1 illegal substance,
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along with other drugs such as heroin, LSD, and MDA. These
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substances are declared by the DEA to have no accepted medical
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use, and a high potential for abuse. Naturally, some therapists
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don't agree that MDMA has no medical use, while users among the
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public don't agree that pleasure implies abuse.
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But the question of abuse really revolves around over-use.
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Everyone knows that too much of anything can be harmful, and MDMA
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is no exception. In the Haight-Ashbury, for instance, de-tox
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clinics have reported cases of people taking 10-15 doses of MDMA
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in one day. And right here in Santa Cruz one student reported
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seeing friends ingest five doses in one sitting-- and with
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unpleasurable results.
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UCSC Drug and Alcohol Counselor Ray Launier said he's seen three
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students this year come in with complaints about MDMA
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aftereffects. Consequently he has initiated a survey of student
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experiences and attitudes related to MDMA. Although only Porter
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ad Kresge colleges have been polled to date, Launier said that so
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far, the findings reveal very few reported side-effects. Launier
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cautioned that conclusions should not be drawn too swiftly.
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Comparing the enamored reports of the therapeutic and insight-
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bestowing qualities of MDMA to similar reports about cocaine and
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LSD when those drugs first appeared, Launier said, "We've seen
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this situation again and again: initially we hear nothing but
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positive reports, and then later we hear about harmful
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side-effects.
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