Re: MAPS: New paper on cognitive performance in Ecstasy users

[Valerie Gremillion <valor@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>>From the abstract:      
>>"However, MDMA subjects had significant performance deficits on a sustained
attention task requiring arithmetic calculations, a task requiring complex
attention and incidental learning, a task requiring short term memory and a
task of semantic recognition and verbal reasoning. MDMA users also had
significant selective decreases in CSF 5-HIAA."      


yes, well, those are not things you normally are trying to do while
engaged with MDMA. . . 
	I believe that a lot of the problem in our attitude toward
entheogens as well as the benign attitude toward legal chemicals
such as caffeine, nicotine, sedatives etc.  is due to our
inability to realize that the brain is capable of a multitude
of states, each beneficial for particular purposes and none 
beneficial for all. Currently, the law and society only support 
chemicals enforcing a goal-directed, single-focus, reductionist
brain state  - considered by the western world to be 'normal'. 
    This basically says that the creative wholistic thinking
responsible for all great art, science, philosophy and religion -
not to mention other levels of joyous realization not considered
important for cogs in the machine - are less worthwhile than the 
brain states that will get your day-in, day-out work accomplished
to the satisfaction of your employer or the 'system' - which
requires worker-ants rather than creative thinkers. 
	Bleh! Once again we choose the short-term apparent good
over long-term welfare of all concerned - and i include the
system itself here. 

valerie


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