"dance fever" on St. Denis
Perusing the internet usually takes on one of two forms for me:
If I am feeling particularly right brained, I usually stumble until I find intense inspiration and come up with at least 5 new art project ideas, at which point I am exhausted by my inadequacy as an artist and lack of time to approach such endeavors abruptly ending my right brained effort.
But on those days where I feel my left brain seeking stimulation, I end up reading articles on wikipedia which undoubtedly follow the path of ...serial killers, musicians, addictions, neuropathologies until I get so scared from reading about psychopaths, I make myself watch videos of raccoons in bathtubs or baby sloths.
[click] Charles Manson [click] Dennis Wilson [click] Beach boys [click] amphetamines [click] stimulant psychosis.
it's just that easy.
I found this article, however, while skimming ELLE.
Apparently doctors are working to identify the therapeutic effects of certain illicit substances and put them on the market. One suggestion described in this article was about using MDMA to treat a range of maladies from PTSD to anxiety to autism to... marital issues?!
I'm trying to imagine how this would be marketed:
Do you feel lost in your marriage?
Are you and your spouse constantly fighting without actually resolving anything?
Have your children complained about how you can't seem to "have fun" anymore?
If so you may be one of 40-50% of marriages doomed for divorce.
But there is hope... with MDMA!
MDMA has proven to increase positive feelings in relationships, like compassion and forgiveness, while decreasing the negative feelings of aggression and anxiety making YOU happier in your marriage.
Side effects may include, but are not limited to: an uncontrollable urge to dance, falling in love with your husbands cashmere sweater/coworker/pet, extolling about the glory of the human hand, and disclosing personal information to your children about your lesbian experimentation in college. Keep soft objects, dubstep, phone calls to family members, office staff parties and inexhaustible water supplies out of reach for the duration of your "treatment".
On the other hand, the connection to autism is interesting as this neurodevelopmental disorder is well known to cause a lack of empathy. Infants with autism often fail to mirror their parents' smiles or do not like to be touched and as children, fail to socialize and communicate with their peers. The idea is that this drug would help autistic individuals become more aware of emotional signals sent by their fellow humans. As one patient stated after the experimental treatment, he hopes to "fake it until he makes it". The article even points to the idea that this could help treat extremely shy people. Wonderful! Now "shyness" ceases to be a personality trait and joins "hyperactivity" as a prodrome of a debilitating disease.
Researchers are still unsure about the safety of using ecstasy as a therapeutic agent because one of the most persuasive studies on the dangers of the drug accidentally dosed monkeys with a recreational hit of crystal meth not MDMA creating Parkinsonian symptoms as their substantia nigra disintegrated and causing two to drop dead. After intense media attention, an interview on Oprah, and an inquiry by the journal of Science, Dr. Ricaurte stated his "supplier" mislabeled the bottles. hmm.
Despite this, doctors should probably avoid giving suburbian desperate housewives yet another prescription drug to drop in their cocktail... I mean with ritalin, adderall, dexedrine, vicodin, xanax, demerol, oxycontin, percocet and miscellaneous SSRI's should we really be adding MDMA?
As for Doblin's research on MDMA treating PTSD patients, I say go ahead. Early trials have shown that de-repressing memories while feeling all warm and fuzzy inside is a highly effective treatment allowing patients to return to a more or less normal life. However, if legalized, clinicians should be wary of an increase in college students experiencing traumatic events.
