MDMATheMovie

Thank you. I started DanceSafe when I discovered in 1998 that the Dutch government was providing drug checking services for users because the market was so adulterated. I was 30 years old and MDMA helped me (therapeutically) when I was a teenager. Having been a harm reduction activist for many years (needle exchange and prison reform work), I simply decided to myself, "I'm going to do this here. I have the organizing skills, and there is a need." My first rave was behind the DanceSafe booth. I came to love the community, even though I am still like punk rock more than electronic music. ;)

Funny you should ask. I am currently producing a film on MDMA, which will focus on harm reduction as well as therapeutic use. We have a youtube channel with lots of video clips already, and are realizing that the movie is going to end up being much more than a movie, but a website with tons of videos and information. In a way, I can see the film morphing into another organization, this one doing more political advocacy for rational drug policies. Check out our crowdfunding page to see some of what I'm talking about: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mdma-the-movie

MDMA is on track to be approved as a medicine in 2021. This is the year MAPS anticipates FDA approval, after the completion of the Phase 3 studies. I think there's no doubt it will be approved, given the preliminary results of the Phase 2 studies. The way it will be approved is that therapists will be licensed to administer it to patients under strict protocols. It won't be like marijuana, where you can get it at dispensaries. As such, medical approval does not eliminate the adulterated, illicit market. We will still have lots of work to do politically even after medical approval.

Good question. It's not the fault of the promoters. It's the fault of drug laws like the RAVE Act, which expanded crack house laws to apply to commercial venues. This piece of regressive legislation allows promoters to be prosecuted if they "maintain a drug involved premises," which is an ambiguously-defined phrase which frightens promoters. They fear that acknowledging drug takes place at their events will open them up to criminal prosecution. But of course the only way to reduce drug-related harms is by first acknowledging drug use happens. And it happens at rock concerts, folk music concerts, and every other type of nightlife. In fact, singling out raves and electronic dance music is false. Statistics show there are just as many medical emergencies stemming from other live music events like Rock shows, but the media seems not to report on those as much.

Well back in the early days when I was starting DanceSafe, I ran into surprisingly little resistance. One of the reasons, ironically, is that back then raves were mostly underground, and hence promoters were more likely to embrace DanceSafe and harm reduction. They wanted to do the right thing to keep people safe. These days, with the professionalization of the EDM industry, promoters and their insurance reps and lawyers are more afraid. Of course, this also has to do with the RAVE Act, that passed in 2003 (or was it 2004?), after I had resigned from DanceSafe.

I also have never met pushback from parents who lost children after taking MDMA or fake ecstasy. This needs to be said. Most poeple think that if you lose a child to a drug, you must become the most fanatical ant-drug person in the world. But this is not the case. When you lose a child to a drug, I have found, you do your homework. All the parents I have spoken to over the years who lost a child have supported DanceSafe and harm reduction.