Push for MDMA to be sold over-the-counter in Australia

Experts in Melbourne have called for MDMA to be legalised and sold over-the-counter in Australia.

The Age reports leading doctor Professor David Penington and pharmacist Joshua Donelly said it's very likely people are swallowing contaminated versions of the drug, putting them at greater risk of harm due to a lack of quality control on the illegal market.

To combat this, the pair said the Australian government should legalise the drug, and regulate its production and sale through pharmacies, so users can access a safer, pure dose with advance discussion about the risks.

"Australians are one of the highest consumers of MDMA in the world," Professor Penington told the newspaper.

"Yet we resolutely resist exploring the fact that most of the uncommon ill consequences of its use arise from impurities... and the 'illicit', uncontrolled circumstances of its use," he said.

In 2010 Britain's Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs ranked MDMA 17th, far behind tobacco (sixth) and alcohol (first), on a list of 20 drugs according to the harm they caused.

Unfortunately, though, the legal sale of MDMA still looks a long way off, with both the Australian and Victorian governments saying they had no plans to legalise the drug.

[Via: The Age]