[eternalvision]

It is unfortunate that you've been downvoted. There's a bit of bias on HN when discussion of potential harms of LSD, THC, and MDMA come up.

Your comment is factually correct and is a relevant counterpoint. It should not have been downvoted.

[anythingnonidin]

> It is unfortunate that you've been downvoted. There's a bit of bias on HN when discussion of potential harms of LSD, THC, and MDMA come up.

> Your comment is factually correct and is a relevant counterpoint. It should not have been downvoted.

Sort of. I didn't downvote their comment, though I don't think it's unfortunate that they were downvoted. Their comment is partially correct, but also partially misleading/misinformed, so seems reasonable for it to be downvoted.

> HN: MDMA _is_ neurotoxic.

At certain doses

Again,

> MDMA researcher Matthew Baggott: “To the best of my understanding, doses around 1.5-1.7 mg/kg MDMA (roughly 100 to 125 mg MDMA) are unlikely to cause long-lasting serotonin changes. Studies by MAPS have looked for changes in mental abilities after people participated in their studies, with some participants receiving 125 mg followed by 62.5 mg, and have not found any changes.” MAPS study protocol involves 3 - 5 week breaks, and a total of 2 or 3 MDMA sessions in total.

https://rollsafe.org/mdma-side-effects/

> Although there is considerable debate over how much MDMA it would take to cause damage to a human user’s brain, there is no real doubt that at some dosages damage can and will occur. Fortunately, brain damage doesn’t seem to happen at moderate recreational doses.

https://dancesafe.org/drug-information/is-mdma-neurotoxic/

> HN: Very much so too.

Subjective. Depends on dose. And your definition of very much.

> HN: Overall this causes a lot of problems, since, well, synapses are very important! Mood, memory, motor function.

Doesn't appear to be true in humans http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/harvard-study-publis...

> Today the journal Addiction published online the results of a neuroscience study finding no evidence of impaired cognitive performance in users of Ecstasy, the street name for the chemical known as MDMA.

> Since previous studies of the neurocognitive effects of Ecstasy did not address these issues, their reports of damage to memory, strategic planning, and other cognitive tasks may have been due to confounded study design rather than to Ecstasy itself.

> HN: Microdosing, even though slightly neurotoxic

? I think they might be confusing MDMA and LSD/other psychedelics, microdosing MDMA is an exceptionally rare practice

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To other readers, the most comprehensive summary of the research is here: https://www.mdmawiki.org/wiki/Is_MDMA_Neurotoxic%3F

And regarding marijuana: https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/01/05/marijuana-much-more-th...

And regarding LSD: https://tripsafe.org/lsd-side-effects/