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posted by martyb on Friday April 12 2019, @04:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the touchy-subject dept.

Cate Faehrmann: Why a lawmaker admitted to taking MDMA [*]

Australian Cate Faehrmann may be the world's first politician to admit to having used the illicit drug MDMA. The reaction in Australia, and globally, has surprised her, she tells Gary Nunn in Sydney.

Ms Faehrmann's admission, made in January, has come amid a fierce debate about introducing "pill testing" services in New South Wales (NSW). Five music festival-goers have died from suspected drug overdoses in NSW since September. It has prompted passionate calls for action - but state lawmakers are divided on what should be done.

Ms Faehrmann, 48, from the Greens party, argues that her opponents have a "limited understanding of the people they're needing to connect with". She says she has taken MDMA (known as ecstasy when in pill form) "occasionally" since her 20s. "I'm sitting here as a politician with more experience than anyone else in the building," she says, adding: "Maybe not - maybe I'm the only one being honest."

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is opposed to pill testing. She has said that "no evidence [has been] provided to the government" that it saves lives, and that testing would give drug users "a false sense of security".

[*] MDMA: 3,4-Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine:

3,4-Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy (E), is a psychoactive drug primarily used as a recreational drug. The desired effects include altered sensations and increased energy, empathy, and pleasure. When taken by mouth, effects begin after 30–45 minutes and last 3–6 hours.

Cate Faehrmann, Gladys Berejiklian. Also check out: DanceSafe.

Related: Research Into Psychedelics Continues
FDA Designates MDMA as a "Breakthrough Therapy" for PTSD; Approves Phase 3 Trials
Scientists Give MDMA to an Octopus


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 13 2019, @09:55PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 13 2019, @09:55PM (#829136)

    Ok, but this is why dancesafe exists. You and your wife made serious rookie mistakes and paid. Taking mentally active drugs is like bungee jumping or parachuting, but with your brain.

    Let me explain.

    From your symptoms' commonalities, I'd say the base drug was probably meth, maybe coke. Each of your experiences would be typical then - see tweaker.pub or erowid.org.

    Besides that, You almost certainly had some dangerous mix. You didn't titrate. You got doses of something which might've been unevenly cut or packaged - powders compress, look at flour - or to which you reacted dramatically differently. It sounds like you got poorly-mixed acid, ketamine, or bath salts in with with it, or maybe just plain badly weighed meth.

    Go to a festival or rave, find an older raver of either gender who seems pretty with it. Ask them if they test their drugs. Find an older raver who seems burned out; ask. Repeat until satisfied, you'll note a pattern is consistent.

    And that was the old days. Not testing powdered and pilled drugs in the age of car/fentanyl is courting death.

    Your wife is lucky the psychotic break was temporary and in future she should avoid all cocaine-like and most psychoactive drugs.

    If you'd been Scouts ("Be Prepared") your outcome would have been different, I wager.

    Geeks, please be geeks about psychonaut shit. At least Tor over to erowid.org. Spend an hour researching for every hour tripping for at least your first 10 hours on any given substance. Don't mix if avoidable; drugs are already strong.

    So to recap:
    1) you didn't research the drugs ahead (did you know expected onset? was onset on time?)
    2) you bought at the party without testing (at least now you recognize this was a mistake)
    3) you ingested all at once (omg titrate, people, brains are different and this is serious stuff)

    I know people who play literal russian roulette. Your experience was only marginally safer. Your wife has higher odds of early onset dementia and more, now. Consolations.