Ecstasy- The Wonder Drug For Parkinson's Disease

You've heard about the effects of ecstasy- the euphoria that makes you feel good while you're on the dance floor shaking your ya-yas off. And, uh, did I mention that it allegedly makes you want to fuck?

Yes, it's illegal in many jurisdictions- penalties could be stiff in some places for possession. Here in the U.S., the Office of National Drug Control Policy has facts on this drug at http://www.ondcp.gov/publications/factsht/mdma/index.html#prevention.

But what the ONDCP site dioesn't mention is a 2001 BBC documentay of a young film stuntman by the name of Tim Lawrence who is suffereing from the effects of Parkinson's Disease- a disease that is usually associated with the elderly (two notables being boxing great Muhammad Ali 64, and the Reverend Billy Graham, 87. Of course, one of the youngest victims of thisa disease is actor Michael J. Fox, 44). Lawerence is about my age, and was diagnosed with the disease at age 34. He takes Ecstasy to relieve the effects of Parkinson's. Now, scientists- and doctors (at least in the UK, I'm not so sure that good ol' Red, White, and Blue is following suit) are doing studies to see if MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine, the official name for Ecstasy) can indeed make Parkinson's sufferers' lives easier- or is it all hocus-pocus? Tim Lawrence doesn't seem to think so, and thus far, a few doctors in the UK and South Africa seem to question why it's illegal? Could Ali, Fox, and Graham benefit from the drug? Or will it make them want to attend the next hottest rave? (Hmmm...).

Click on the title to go to the BBC link.