Scientists retract ecstasy drug finding

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore have recanted a controversial report on the dangers of the drug commonly called ecstasy. The scientists reported in the Sept. 27, 2002 Science that one-time use of the mind-altering drug can severely impair the body’s processing of dopamine, an important brain chemical.

The original paper suggested that ecstasy, technically known as methylenedioxymethamphetamine, could cause brain damage and death in lab animals at doses comparable to those taken by some teens.