Drugs Live; the Ecstasy Trial.

[jaysay]

Great minds think alike, how dare you insult susie like that

[BERNADETTE]

Originally Posted by kestrelx

So you had it on in the background while playing games. Which means you weren't paying full attention. There are a lot of murders and rapes going on - so why show these actions on TV which surely, following your logic, showing rapes and murder on TV, which they do all the time, will encourage more people do rape and murder!

The point is - just because something may give people the idea to do something - should we effectively ban it?

Have your say! Take part in the Channel 4 on line survey now:

Drugs Live: The Ecstasy Trial - Features - Take our Drugs Live Survey - Channel 4

I was sort of listening but don't really need scientists to tell me about the effects that recreational drugs can have on everyday lives as I have been affected by a family member having an addiction (now conquered) to such drugs. So IMHO "YES" these drugs should be banned, don't know your personal experiences or circumstances and am not going to go into to much detail about mine,suffice to say it would have torn many families apart. I stand by my opinion that the money could go to much more worthwhile research.

[kestrelx]

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

I was sort of listening but don't really need scientists to tell me about the effects that recreational drugs can have on everyday lives as I have been affected by a family member having an addiction (now conquered) to such drugs. So IMHO "YES" these drugs should be banned, don't know your personal experiences or circumstances and am not going to go into to much detail about mine,suffice to say it would have torn many families apart. I stand by my opinion that the money could go to much more worthwhile research.

The point I made is that murder and rape are shown on TV on drama's several times a day on various TV channels we have these days - now some say that this causes a small minority to be violent and copy those crimes - again this point is something there are opposing strong opinions about. Just like the legalising drugs question.

Your saying that they shouldn't show this program on TV not only because it's a waste of money, but because kids will copy it and might try ecstasy because of it. When there is massive increased violence and stabbings etc - which could be linked to violence on TV and video games and so on!

So why is it OK to show all this violence on the cop drama's and horror films. But a little bit of drugs is wrong?

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by kestrelx

But a little bit of drugs is wrong?

Ya in a civilises society

[kestrelx]

Originally Posted by jaysay

Ya in a civilises society

So why all the violence in our society - shootings and attacks , which some say is caused by increased violence shown in films and computer games and so on in TV/films and Hollywood ! I find that nearly every Hollywood film that comes out is violent, I personally find that offensive - but what can I do about it.

Is this a civilised society? (PS your spelling is wrong!)

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by kestrelx

Is this a civilised society (PS your spelling is wrong!)

Um ya looks like yours is as well then

[susie123]

Originally Posted by kestrelx

But a little bit of drugs is wrong?

Originally Posted by jaysay

Ya in a civilises society

It has been argued that civilisation arose through drug use

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chemical-Mus.../dp/0312352492

Everybody musta got stoned - Isthmus | The Daily Page

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mushrooms-My...ref=pd_sim_b_1

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by susie123

It has been argued that civilisation arose through drug use

The Chemical Muse: Drug Use and the Roots of Western Civilization: Amazon.co.uk: D.C.A. Hillman: Books

Everybody musta got stoned - Isthmus | The Daily Page

Mushrooms, Myths and Mithras: The Drug Cult That Civilized Europe: Amazon.co.uk: Carl A.P. Ruck, Mark Alwin Hoffman: Books

Not my civilisation it hasn't

[DaveinGermany]

Originally Posted by jaysay

Ya in a civilises society

Originally Posted by kestrelx

Is this a civilised society? (PS your spelling is wrong!)

Civilize or Civilise, according to the Oxford concise English dictionary gentlemen.

1. To raise from barbarism to an enlightened stage of development; bring out of a primitive or savage state.
2. To educate in matters of culture and refinement; make more polished or sophisticated.

And you pair are arguing the toss ???

[annesingleton]

Originally Posted by kestrelx

So why all the violence in our society - shootings and attacks , which some say is caused by increased violence shown in films and computer games and so on in TV/films and Hollywood ! I find that nearly every Hollywood film that comes out is violent, I personally find that offensive - but what can I do about it.

Is this a civilised society? (PS your spelling is wrong!)

A lot of violent criminal behaviour is rooted in drugs.

[DaveinGermany]

Originally Posted by annesingleton

A lot of violent criminal behaviour is rooted in drugs.

Are you counting Alcohol in that statement Anne ?

[Restless]

Got personal opinions. Go on the site and post them there. Perhaps that will do something constructive. Here it is just going around in circles, so perhaps this thread could stick to the discussion of the TV program and not post personal opinions about drugs. That can only lead to arguments and stuff. Seen it, done it and got bored by it.

[susie123]

Well I thought the most annoying thing about tonight's (Thurs)programme was the long advert breaks: they were always having to interrupt the flow of discussion to cut to the adverts. And the programme because of its format was very bitty and too chatty - I don't think keep cutting to twitter and email comments and keep rushing about the studio does anything to promotea sensible discussion.

Anyway - and I would say this wouldn't I as it reflects my own thoughts - the most sensible comments came from Evan Harris, doctor and ex-MP who said he took part in the trial because it was important to investigate the science of the possible use of MDMA to treat post traumatic stress disorder. He said the scientists could do all sorts of trials but the government would probably ignore the findings which is a depressing thought.

It's happened before [from Wikipedia]:

In February 2009, the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs issued A review of MDMA ('ecstasy'), its harms and classification under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which recommended that MDMA be re-classified in the UK from a class A drug to a class B drug.

The government's veto was criticized in scientific publications. Colin Blakemore, Professor of Neuroscience, Oxford, stated in the British Medical Journal, "The government's decisions compromise its commitment to evidence based policy". Also in response, an editorial in the New Scientist noted "A much larger percentage of people suffer a fatal acute reaction to peanuts than to MDMA.... Sadly, perspective is something that is generally lacking in the long and tortuous debate over illegal drugs.

Anyway Prof Nutt said that the end that they had got funding for more trials, and that the MRI scanning data had revealed useful and previously unknown information about the effects of the drug on the brain.

And I don't for one moment think that the programme would tempt anyone to try this drug for the first time. There was no sensationalism, and a couple of profs said how dangerous they thought it was.

An interesting point was made about the drug as bought on the street: the researchers analysed the ecstasy that had been seized at a festival, Glastonbury I think - one third of the tabs contained no active ingredients at all and the rest were cut with various things, some harmful and some inert, but the average MDMA content of the tablets was almost exactly the same as the amount given to each of the volunteers in the trial.

My conclusions - a worthwhile programme, not easy to watch because of its style, probably watched mostly by folks who were sympathetic to its aims, and sadly not watched by many who jumped to conclusions about it before it was shown who might actually have found it interesting and learned something from it.

[susie123]

An amusing aside: in one of the advert breaks they were promoting a product called Feliway which is a plug in device which emits a substance which is supposed to help control unwanted behaviour in cats. The ad ended with a dopey-looking cartoon cat purring on the arm of a chair and a line of text saying "behaviour therapy may be required".

So it's OK to drug your pussycat up to the eyeballs but you're not allowed to do it to yourself?

[kestrelx]

Originally Posted by susie123

An amusing aside: in one of the advert breaks they were promoting a product called Feliway which is a plug in device which emits a substance which is supposed to help control unwanted behaviour in cats. The ad ended with a dopey-looking cartoon cat purring on the arm of a chair and a line of text saying "behaviour therapy may be required".

So it's OK to drug your pussycat up to the eyeballs but you're not allowed to do it to yourself?

Was that a joke about the cat needing "therapy!"

Somebody on Twitter mentioned that they had an ad for "Special K" in one of the ad breaks - which is another term for the drug Ketamine.

All in all I think it was a very worth while program. The 2nd one was better of the two as it resolved some questions. There were clearly mixed experiences but isn't that the case with all drugs? Some people have adverse reactions to alcohol. This is also the case with prescription drugs, some people react adversely to some types.

Problem with MDMA is that it came to notoriety in relation to rave culture and thus has been tarred with a negative brush. If it had never been a rave drug and was being used in trials for use in therapy there would be no controversy!