Government ecstasy research "seriously, seriously flawed"

[Heretic.Ape.]

http://www.drugwardistortions.org/distortion8.htm
Distortion 8: Ecstasy is a widespread danger that is killing American youth.
It is possible that Ecstasy use has resulted in the deaths of some young people but it is an exaggeration that this is widespread. The Drug Abuse Warning Network estimates that ecstasy was involved in -- though not necessarily the cause of -- nine deaths in 1998.
["Club Drugs," The DAWN Report, Drug Abuse Warning Network, Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental health Services Administration (Washington, DC: SAMHSA, December 2000), p. 4.]
One of the recent risks associated with Ecstasy is the possibility of obtaining adulterated drugs that may be more toxic than MDMA. Some of the reported deaths attributed to Ecstasy are likely caused by other, more dangerous drugs.
[Laboratory Pill Analysis Program, DanceSafe. For results visit www.DanceSafe.org. See also, Byard RW et al., "Amphetamine derivative fatalities in South Australia-is ‘Ecstasy’ the culprit?," American Journal of Forensic Medical Pathology, 1998 (Sep) 19(3): 261-5.]

A number of drug abuse experts are growing concerned that federal exaggerations regarding ecstasy may backfire. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Dec. 30, 2002 ( "Critics Take Issue With Antidrug Campaign") that "There is increasing debate in scientific circles about the validity of the research behind government claims about the dangers of ecstasy. By overdramatizing its hazards, the critics say, antidrug campaigners may be achieving the opposite of what they seek. Like the crusaders against alcohol and marijuana before them, the anti-ecstasy forces may be persuading a generation of already skeptical youths that adults are more interested in scaring kids than informing them. The government's campaign is based on research that is 'seriously, seriously flawed,' says Charles Grob, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA and a leading ecstasy researcher. ( Ecstasy is the street name for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA. ) A more honest approach, the critics argue, would be to cite the known hazards without sensationalizing the unproven. The drug, they say, can cause kidney damage, dehydration, high blood pressure, elevated heart rate, and increases in body temperature that can, on rare occasions, be fatal. And, though ecstasy is not physically addicting, it can create psychological dependence. Scientists also agree that research shows ecstasy as damaging to serotonin neurons in rat brains. But an honest campaign, critics note, would stop short of saying that ecstasy causes long-term brain damage in humans."