US: Web: What a Long Strange Trip It's Been

WHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN Ecstasy, the New Prescription Drug? This year, the drug MDMA, otherwise known as ecstasy, could take a step toward medical respectability. Researchers in South Carolina have begun experimenting with MDMA for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. At Harvard, a long-awaited pilot study will begin on whether the drug can help relieve anxiety and pain in terminal cancer patients in connection with psychotherapy. And studies will also start in Switzerland and Israel, where a former chief psychiatrist of the Israel Defense Forces will oversee work with people whose PTSD stems from terrorism or war. Ecstasy gained notoriety as a party drug in the 1980s and 1990s. ( Recall teenagers at raves with sparkly eyes and pacifiers rolling and dancing all night; a revival appears to be under way in England. ) Enthusiasts say the drug makes them feel relaxed, energetic, and mentally clear. One likened it to a six-hour orgasm. In rare cases, however, users died after dancing for hours and overheating, or after taking mixtures of ecstasy and other drugs. Animal studies have shown that long-term, heavy ecstasy use can be risky for the brain. Human studies have found some ill effects in chronic users, as well. The government classifies MDMA ( or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine ) along with heroin, LSD, and marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, which means that it's illegal and has no recognized medical uses. But research has not proved that moderate or low doses of ecstasy are particularly dangerous. And avant-garde psychiatrists have long argued that in a controlled clinical setting, low amounts can play a role by reducing fear, without sedation, and so encourage openness and emotional insight. "There is nothing else like this in psychiatry--a fast-acting anti-anxiety medication that makes people alert and talkative," says Julie Holland, a psychiatrist at NYU Medical Center. If available to treat patients, "It would be incredibly useful." Some mental-health professionals interested in exploring MDMA's therapeutic uses protested when the government made it illegal 20 years ago. Stories of the drug's power to combat the psychological effects of terminal illness have continued to surface over the years. But proponents have had little but anecdote to go on. The current wave of studies should bring new rigor to answering an old question: whether MDMA deserves to be a prescription drug. MDMA was patented more than 90 years ago by the German chemical company E. Merck. For years, it was essentially shelved for reasons that aren't clear. In the 1950s, the U.S. Army conducted research on MDMA, perhaps as a potential incapacitant or truth serum, but apparently dropped the idea. The compound was rediscovered in the late 1970s by chemist and psychedelic cult hero Alexander Shulgin, who synthesized it for recreational use ( and supplied it to at least one psychiatrist interested in trying it with patients ). Ecstasy works by prompting the brain to release a flood of neurotransmitters, including serotonin, which is believed to kick off the sensations of physical pleasure and euphoria. That sounds nice, but animal research suggests that high doses of the drug can cause the nerve endings that release serotonin to degenerate, ultimately lowering its levels in the brain. Some studies suggest that heavy users sustain damage to their serotonin systems. Long-term users may also experience increased anxiety, depression, or sleep disturbances. Recently, researchers in the Netherlands reported preliminary findings to suggest that in new users, low doses of ecstasy can alter blood-flow patterns in the brain and may result in small decreases in verbal memory. In truth, this litany of harms is not as scary or as conclusive as it sounds, however. The best-known neuroimaging work purporting to show ecstasy-related long-term damage to the human serotonin system was fraught with methodological problems. Much of the research on the drug's apparent psychological or behavioral effects in chronic users fails to account for other drugs, like cocaine or marijuana, which ravers often take, as well. Nor does most research account for other substances like methamphetamine, DXM, and ketamine that pills sold as X may contain. John Halpern of Harvard Medical School, who is running the study on MDMA for cancer patients, has tried to avoid this problem by studying a group of ravers in Utah who took large quantities of ecstasy but rarely used other illegal substances or drank alcohol. ( Apparently, the mores of this largely Mormon area allowed the ravers to conclude that X isn't as bad as drinking--Halpern isn't sure why. ) He found that those who took the drug 60 or more times performed worse on a number of neuropsychological tests, especially those involving mental processing speed and impulsivity. But the heavy users still performed within the normal range. And those who used X fewer than 50 times did not show these effects. When Halpern combined data on all the users, regardless of the extent of their use, he found no significant differences between users and nonusers, including in their scores on memory tests. ( The recent Dutch work that links low doses of X to small memory changes is, so far, difficult to evaluate. ) Minor and probably transient memory impairment may not be so bad. And MDMA would be safer in a clinical setting, where the patient's mind-set would be different and the drug's purity guaranteed. So can the anti-anxiety effects of ecstasy be harnessed to good effect under a psychiatrist's care? George Greer, perhaps the best known of the doctors who gave their patients MDMA in the 1980s, prescribed it to about 80 patients who suffered from mild depression, anxiety, or relationship troubles. He says they could more freely remember and discuss difficult events. A few felt tired, depleted, or anxious the next day. But according to Greer, none suffered lasting side effects. Other psychiatrists say that ecstasy has the potential to accelerate therapy and to enhance the therapeutic alliance, creating a closeness that carries over to future sessions. But neither Greer nor anyone else conducted any controlled studies to prove the point. In the Harvard and South Carolina studies, patients will be screened for physical and psychological conditions that might make MDMA dangerous to them. ( High blood pressure and major medical problems are pre-emptive, as are psychoses. ) The idea is to look for benefits in psychotherapy, but also to watch out for adverse reactions. The studies include two psychotherapy sessions with the drug and multiple sessions without it, so subjects and their therapists can integrate material stirred up under the influence. Both are designed as randomized, double blind, controlled trials--the gold standard of scientific research. And both have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It's too soon to say what these trials will yield. But if all goes well, MDMA could help some patients, and also help build acceptance for parallel work on the potential therapeutic effects of psilocybin ( found in 'shrooms ) or even LSD. Even at this late date, it's possible to imagine for psychiatry a small psychedelic renaissance.














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US NC: Edu: Trip-seekers Find Means In Legal Salvia

Philip Emanuel took a hit of salvia, held the smoke in his lungs for a few moments and then let it escape his lips. "Oooh, it works!" he said mere seconds later, his eyes wide. Beforehand, Emanuel explained that a salvia trip produces "the most dissociative effect you can possibly have." He just might have been correct. For the next five minutes, the sophomore moved and spoke as though spirits had passed through his hookah's tubes and seized control of his body. He spoke gibberish between fits of uncontrollable laughter and was unable to respond coherently to anyone. When he tried to stand, he staggered and then looked around with astonishment as if he were seeing the world for the first time. "I will not admit any doings of any kind," he said, a statement he wouldn't recall making only minutes later. After about five minutes had passed and the most intense segment was behind him, sweat beads covered Emanuel's face, though the temperature was a windy 45 degrees. Emanuel had smoked salvia divinorum extract, a legal hallucinogen available at head shops nationwide. Historically, Mazatec Indians, who lived in southern Mexico, consumed salvia for spiritual purposes; indeed, salvia is often referred to as the "sage of the seers." "The active ingredient is salvinorin-A, the most active, naturally occurring hallucinogen," said Bryan Roth, a professor of pharmacology at UNC's School of Medicine. In 2002 Roth helped discover how salvia influences the brain. He said it only affects a single brain receptor - the kappa opiate receptor. "Here you have this drug that has a profound effect on the brain, and it only affects a single receptor out of hundreds," Roth said. He said this indicates that the receptor alters consciousness, which means studying it could be helpful for treating mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. But what does it feel like when salvia activates your kappa opiate receptor? "It felt like my head was in a box and some outside force was moving it around and determining my viewpoint," Emanuel said as the effects wound down. "It's like tunnel vision. You only see one thing at a time, but each time you look at something you get a different feeling; you feel what you are looking at." He stood up and looked down at his hookah and said the distance had become distorted. "Right now it seems like it's a mile away from my face," he said. It was no more than six inches away. Emanuel also said he was unable to process sounds made by himself or others. Despite its potency, salvia remains legal in most states, including North Carolina. Sophomore Sara Thomas, an employee at the head shop Hazmat Inc., said salvia is a popular item because of its legality. The plant costs $80 for one gram at 20x strength at Hazmat. Potencies at the store range from 5x to 20x . Emanuel used about a third of a gram in one sitting. Roth, however, said he doesn't think it will remain uncontrolled. "The only reason it's legal is that it hasn't yet been made illegal," Roth said. He added that most people he talked to did not enjoy their experience because of its intensity. Thomas said her manager had smoked the plant and said he would rather "bang his head against a wall than do salvia again." Emanuel, on the other hand, described his experience as pleasant. "During your trip, you have to realize on an instinctual level that you're OK," he said. "There's no reason to be afraid; it's an illogical fear and paranoia." From a health perspective, little is known about salvia. However, Roth said there are no signs it's addictive and that one formal study in rodents found no overt toxicity. Roth advised against consuming salvia because "if you are in a disoriented condition you can get yourself into some trouble." Many mistakenly view salvia as legal marijuana or legal LSD. "Salvia's structure is very different," Roth said. "It's completely unique."

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CN MB: Officers Faced Grilling At Trial

OFFICERS FACED GRILLING AT TRIAL Defence Planned To Attack Conduct Of Police Chief'S Stepson, Partner DEFENCE lawyers were preparing to attack the conduct of two Winnipeg police officers who are now under internal investigation for allegedly lying under oath in a drug prosecution that collapsed, according to court documents obtained Friday by the Free Press. Const. Peter O'Kane and his partner, Const. Jess Zebrun -- the stepson of Chief Jack Ewatski -- would have been grilled at trial about the validity of a search warrant they obtained and whether the information sworn to a magistrate was "sufficient and accurate" if the case had not been recently stayed by the Crown. Even if the warrant was found to be valid, lawyers Evan Roitenberg and Darren Sawchuk planned to argue that the officers "may have illegally entered a hotel room where the drugs were located prior to the warrant being obtained." The intended defence is contained in a pre-trial memo located on the court file of the two accused. Scott Guiboche and Danny George walked free on serious charges of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime last November, despite the fact police found approximately two pounds of cocaine and $30,000 cash. Crown attorney Michael Foote offered no explanation for entering a stay of proceedings. However, Foote did express concerns during a February 2006 preliminary hearing that police "have not been forthcoming" with their disclosure of information pertaining to their search warrant. The Winnipeg police professional standards unit is now investigating the two officers and their roles in the case. Both officers have been reassigned to internal desk duties while the investigation is ongoing. A hotel employee has provided information that supports the theory of defence lawyers that the officers had gone into the hotel room without a warrant, according to police and legal sources. When they testified at the preliminary hearing, O'Kane and Zebrun claimed their suspicions about the hotel room weren't based on an illegal sneak peek but rather on the information of a mysterious informant. The pair told a judge they never entered Room 1707 at the Fairmont Hotel until after they had obtained a search warrant, which they based on a tip from the unknown source, according to a transcript of the case that is on the court file. But the pair gave different accounts in court of when they first went to the hotel and how many times they stopped in at the hotel the day the arrests were made in July 2005. O'Kane and Zebrun told court how the now-controversial drug investigation began with a routine call about a disturbance. The officers found a drunk and disorderly man named Scott Guiboche and took him to the Main Street Project for lodging under the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act. However, their focus shifted when a routine pat-down uncovered nine rocks of crack cocaine, court was told. Guiboche was taken to the Public Safety Building and put in a holding cell, now facing a charge of possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking. The story takes a twist, O'Kane testified, when an anonymous phone call came into the police station just as they were processing Guiboche. The caller -- whom O'Kane identified only as 'X" -- had some revealing information about Guiboche. "He said he had a room, 1707 at the Fairmont, which was a reloading station. He said he has lots of cash and crack in there," said O'Kane. The caller claimed he had been in the room with Guiboche and had previously given confidential information to another police officer in a theft investigation. Under cross-examination, defence lawyers appeared skeptical about the existence of the informant. O'Kane said he took no steps to obtain any information about the mysterious caller, such as his name or background. Instead, he said he felt the man was a reliable source after he called the other officer, who confirmed the nameless caller had once been a source of good information. O'Kane said he also expressed shock to his partner about the good timing of the informant's call about the very man they had just arrested a couple hours earlier. "I said 'you won't believe this guy just phoned here and says there's a room at the Fairmont with crack and money," he told court. As well, the tipster's information seemed to mesh with a Fairmont Hotel swipe card they found in Guiboche's pocket during his arrest, he said. O'Kane told court he and Zebrun then went to the Fairmont, spoke with the night manager and confirmed Room 1707 was being rented out by a man named Danny George. He said they called for some additional officers to watch the exterior of the room while they returned to the PSB to fill out an application for a warrant. Zebrun told a different story. He testified he and O'Kane went to the Fairmont for the first time only after they had already obtained the warrant. "( The night manager ) advised us of the suite number that the card belonged to and who was renting that suite, the name at least that was on the paper. And then we went up and executed the search warrant," said Zebrun. "OK, so you had the search warrant with you when you went and saw the manager," asked Sawchuk. "Yes, I believe so," said Zebrun. "How many times did you go into that suite, 1707, that day?" asked Sawchuk. "Just one," said Zebrun. In their information to obtain a search warrant, O'Kane and Zebrun swore before a magistrate they had "conducted police investigative techniques" to verify that the informant's information about the hotel suite was accurate. O'Kane told defence lawyers in cross-examination the investigative techniques involved learning from his fellow officer "X" was a good source, confirming the swipe card found on Guiboche was valid and confirming that the room was registered in George's name. Lawyers also questioned the two officers about the fact they specifically noted "crack, money, scales and packaging material" could be expected to be found in the hotel suite -- even though the informant apparently only mentioned drugs and cash. Packaging material such as Ziploc baggies and Saran Wrap were found immediately upon entering the suite, court was told.














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CN MB: Drug Message Changes From Just Say No, To Go, Go, Go

DRUG MESSAGE CHANGES FROM JUST SAY NO, TO GO, GO, GO Drugs have always played a role in popular music, from '60s acid rock and the ganja-slowed rhythms of reggae to grunge's heroin-wracked self-loathing. But none of these narcotics have influenced a genre as intensely as crack-cocaine has hip-hop. For the past year, the subgenre known as crack-rap -- a.k.a. cocaine rap or, more poetically, trap-hop -- has dominated the charts. Nearly every major hip-hop album has sniffed around the subject, but rather than describing their own habits, these rappers have been boasting about drug-dealing day-jobs. Veteran Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface named last spring's critically acclaimed solo CD Fishscale -- slang for pure-strain cocaine -- and sprinkled stories of drug lords and street-sellers amongst his '70s soul samples. Meanwhile, oversized newcomer Rick Ross -- a former dealer whose nom-de-rap was borrowed from imprisoned L.A. crack kingpin "Freeway" Rick Ross -- blew up with his Miami anthem Hustlin', on which he brags about being into "distribution" and knowing Pablo Escobar and Manuel Noriega. The song sold a million ringtones before he dropped his chart-topping debut album, Port of Miami, and was re-released as a remix with Jay-Z and Young Jeezy. In fact, Young Jeezy, a raspy-voiced Atlanta MC who goes by the less-than-subtle alias "The Snowman," just debuted at the top of the U.S. Billboard charts with his second coke-obsessed LP, The Inspiration, a swaggering follow-up to last year's smash Thug Motivation 101 that brought crack-rap into the mainstream by making dope-dealing seem like an aspirational vocation. Now it would be much easier to dismiss the entire movement as just more amoral fantasies for the suburban set if it didn't also include Clipse, a sibling duo from Virginia Beach whose recently released Hell Hath No Fury was hailed by many not only as the year's best rap record, but as one of the year's overall best: review compiler Metacritic.com rated it 2006's third most-acclaimed album, nestled between Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. The cover features Malice and Pusha-T perched on a gas-fired oven, presumably for cooking their product, wearing lopsided crowns. But their kingdom never extends beyond the street corner and they belie their crack-slinging braggadocio with starkly experimental but deeply funky beats from popular producers The Neptunes that use wheezing accordions, metallic clanks and minimalist drums to reinforce their lyrics' paranoid and fatalistic subtext. Clipse may see the drug trade as a necessary escape from ghetto life, but even they ignore the irony of how it makes the buyer's metaphorical prison ever more secured. One of the first "conscious" rap records was Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's White Lines ( Don't Do It ), but that was 1983 and concerned the upscale coca leaf derivative, seen as a symbol of decadence but not destruction. The rise of crack in the inner city was a bigger-than-Katrina disaster. Hard living became impossibly harder as streets filled with amped-up addicts looking for a fix. When hip-hop first emerged in late-'70s New York, it was block party music, fuelled by breakdancing b-boys, record-scratching DJs and upbeat MCs. But the optimism surrounding this new cultural outlet was battered by crack. In the late '80s, Public Enemy railed against crack's devastation with Night of the Living Baseheads. The startling video depicted zombified addicts while Chuck D cursed brothers who "sell to their own, rob a home/ while some shrivel to bone." P.E.'s puritanical raps were somewhat discredited by member Flavor Flav's own crack habit, while more light-hearted rappers of the day, like De La Soul, started to seem hopelessly out of touch. Enter gangsta rap. Crack provided employment to discouraged youth who saw selling rocks as the best means to make money. This often created urban war zones that groups such as Compton's N.W.A. depicted in their controversial lyrics. On the other coast, the biggest New York stars were also dealers-turned-rappers, including drive-by victim Notorious B.I.G. This freebased capitalism was a dark twist on the American dream, but at least the '90s-era rappers were rhyming about the crack-embattled environment they grew up in. By 2000, the epidemic had somewhat abated, but crack has not only become a more popular subject in rap than ever, it's being rhymed about by young men who may not even remember the original plague. These aren't just vicarious fantasies for rap fans, but for the rappers themselves. They rarely discuss the deadly effects, instead concentrating on how to cook it, bag it, sell it and buy bling with the profits. Considering how many metaphors crack-rappers use to discuss their alleged activities -- at least partly to avoid potential legal implications -- crack itself has become a metaphor for power, money, and respect. Nobody does this better than Clipse, whose words are so clever, efficient and dark they artfully describe the horror-show toll cocaine has taken without having to condemn it. But if the Clipse brothers are full-fledged street poets, most of their peers are selling simple escapist fodder, music with a visceral kick that loses it's rush all too quickly. Gangsta rap was about the side-effects of crack, but this is just about the sale of it. There are only so many ways to talk commerce, even if it is illicit, and Clipse just used up most them.











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