Ecstasy: as harmful as heroin?

There is evidence that the use of MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), colloquially known as "ecstasy" particularly among late adolescents and young adults is increasing in Australia. Despite recent government-sponsored public education programs, there is a perception that recreational use of MDMA is much less harmful than other illicit substances like heroin. Recent seizures by police in Australia underline the extent of the demand for MDMA and how lucrative trafficking in MDMA has become. In two recent Australian cases, appellate courts considered the legislative intent of both State and Commonwealth legislation and held that a quantity-based penalty regime applied which distinguished between "traffickable" and "commercial" quantities of illicit drugs and that no distinction turned on the relative "harmfulness" of MDMA. In examining the question of harmfulness, this column summarises the pharmacology and morbidity of MDMA and considers the links between MDMA and other substances of abuse and the implications for further prevention programs.