Ecstasy Essay, Research Paper

Critical ReviewEcstasy makes an interesting topic for public discourse due to its increasing popularity and questionable side effects. The public as consumers of the media must decide if any information given about this topic is accurate and reliable. In this paper three articles will be analyzed. The first one, ?Bill to Increase Penalties on the Drug Ecstasy? by AnneMarie Tavella, deals with the legal aspects of the drug and argues that a bill should be passed to change possession of 15 grams of MDMA to a class X felony, which requires at least six to 30 years of imprisonment without the option of probation. The second article ?A Dose of Generation X? by Paul Glanzrock claims that ecstasy is safe for clinical use in treating Parkinson?s disease and relieving the emotional distress of terminal cancer patients. The last article called ?Fine Lines? by Andrew Sullivan, questions the definition of drugs in general from caffeine to crystal meth and argues that taking ecstasy is morally the same thing as taking Prozac. With a closer look at these articles the reader can find out what standpoint the author is taking and draw conclusions about which aspects of ecstasy are true and trustworthy.

Three different perspectives of the chemical MDMA or better know as ecstasy is given in these articles. Tavella writes about the legal aspects of the drug. He sites in his work Representatives and law enforcement groups to back up his opinion that ecstasy needs stiffer penalties. The reason why he believes this is because ?It?s led to many deaths? (Tavella 1) and in the last paragraph of the article he states, ?You get the instant high, but in the long run the effects are pretty detrimental.?(1) The long run effects he?s talking about are how the drug damages seritonin-containing neurons, affecting emotion, memory, sleep and pain. In using legal figureheads to back his claim and describing how ecstasy is damaging to your health Tavella is effective in trying to persuade to reader of his views.

From Andrew Sullivan?s perspective, there is little or no difference between over the counter prescription medications to illegal substances. He states, ? The most frustrating thing about the war on drugs is the word drugs? (Sullivan 8) His main argument to support his theory is that ecstasy is considered a class A drug, which is on the same lines as cocaine and heroin, while Prozac is legal by prescription. Sullivan believes that Prozac and Ecstasy are the same in that both drugs regulate the production of serotonin for people with suppressed or unstable serotonin levels. He states ?Both drugs are designed to make people happier. What rationale is there in making one drug illegal and marketing the other to literally millions every year??(8) Sullivan idea of ecstasy is that it is only considered an illegal drug because of its high recreational use. Glanzrock gives a medical perspective of MDMA. He is trying to prove to the reader that ecstasy is considered safe for clinical use by giving examples of its uses in the past as it was used to treat depression, anxiety, rape related trauma and schizophrenia. (16) He also uses testimonial from University professors to support his claim like Richard Doblin, a Doctoral at Harvard University who is recognized for his research on MDMA. Doblin states, ?Ecstasy can be used effectively to accelerate the therapeutic process of psychotherapy.? (16) Glanzrock uses many of the same persuasive techniques as Tavella by stating authorities and using their opinions to back up his claim. Unlike Tevella, Glanzrock

Once the reader understands the standpoint the author is taking, in order to draw conclusions about what aspects of ecstasy are true the reader should ask himself or herself, are the articles reliable in terms of data and analysis? ?Illinois Bill to Increase Penalties on the Drug Ecstasy? was written in the Daily Egyptian. The Daily Egyptian is the local newspaper for Southern Illinois University that has captured more awards than any other college newspaper in the state. Sense the articleTo better understand these articles the reader must also ask what information or perspectives are noticeably absent and why?These three articles all view ecstasy in a different light. The only way to make an accurate decision to weather or not ecstasy is the same as Prozac, beneficial for medicinal purposes, or should have harsher penalties is to critically review these articles. After considering the authors? viewpoints, what information is notably missing and the credibility of the articles themselves, the reader is ready to make his or her conclusions about which aspects of ecstasy are true and trustworthy.