New BBC documentary explores the power of music for people living with dementia
A new BBC documentary is set to explore how music can help people living with dementia. Read more
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Dancesafe Organization Shares Safe Ways to Test Drugs
The Non-profit organization DanceSafe has just released updated guidance on how to safely check drugs. The instructions are shipped out with every drug testing kit that it sells and can be accessed online as PDFs.
DanceSafe is acclaimed for offering adulterant screening to the rave and nightlife communities, based on harm reduction and peer-to-peer education principles. The group maintains a nonjudgmental stance to assist people who use drugs in making educated decisions about their health and safety, without condoning or condemning drug use.
Tolerating Drug Use Can Help Aid Students Than Zero-Tolerance
A new study argues that a zero-tolerance approach to drug-taking at universities causes more harm than good.
The study, titled Illicit drug use in universities: zero tolerance or harm reduction?, was published by the Higher Education Policy Institute today. It argues that an approach based on public health and focused on harm reduction is a much better way to actually help students who use drugs.
High Levels Of MDMA & Cocaine In Glastonbury’s Water Impacting Wild Life
Researchers have found high levels of MDMA in Glastonbury’s water and are studying its effect on the local wildlife. Studies are showing high levels of drug contamination in the river that runs through the site of the Glastonbury Festival. Dan Aberg, a Masters’s student at the School of Natural Sciences at Bangor University, and Dr. Daniel Chaplin from the Centre for Environmental Biotechnology (CEB) measured levels of drugs found in the Whitelake River before, during, and after Glastonbury Festival 2019.
Attend More Festivals and Raves: Science Says They Make You Happier
A study conducted in Australia with a sample size of 1,000 people has concluded that people who regularly attend festivals, raves and music concerts are happier with their lives overall than those who do not.
We have always known that art in general and music tend to increase any given person’s happiness level, but this particular study reports that people who go to communal music events on a regular basis are far more satisfied with their life in general than those who abstain from such activities.
The study “explores the connection between habitual music engagement and subjective wellbeing (SWB),” where ‘habitual music engagement’ might be anything from attending music festivals to just going to the club.
The findings revealed that engaging with music by dancing or attending musical events was associated with higher SWB than for those who did not engage with music in these forms. The findings also emphasised the important role of engaging with music in the company of others with regard to SWB, highlighting an interpersonal feature of music.
Can MDMA Really Cure Tinnitus?
Tinnitus, the condition that is characterized by ringing or uncontrollable noise disturbance in the ears, could possibly be cured with MDMA. The revelation comes from a scientific study being conducted in New Zealand, which has already completed trials showing promise of proving that the common rave/party drug could be used to cure the troubling hearing condition.
As reported by Stuff, the joint study between the University of Auckland and the University of Otago began two years ago as a result of enough reports from those with tinnitus who had taken ecstasy and felt benefits, urging researches to dig into it further.
So far, the last two years of MDMA studies involved a small number of participants in placebo-controlled trials, where they were given a small dose of MDMA or a placebo and monitored over a four-hour time period. It’s important to not that they were not given enough MDMA to feel high”, yet many reported an easing of tinnitus after just three hours. Reportedly, those who experienced the benefits stated that the same effects maintained for a week or even more. The research conducted thus far was divided into two separate trials, where researchers administered doses of 30 mg or 70 mg of MDMA imported under strict controls and dispensed by pharmacists working as part of the research team.
The leading professor behind the research, University of Auckland professor Grant Searchfield, did note that the operation is moving slow due to the high risks associated with MDMA, “Our goal is to try and find a medication for tinnitus. It can have catastrophic effects. Whether MDMA is it or whether it’s a trial for us to identify what is going on in the brain is still an open question.”
In order for the study to continue, as well as to know which exact next steps are needed, Scientists are reviewing all data and brain imaging from the trials thus far conduced, which could take months. Further funding will also need to be raised in order to progress beyond the current stage of the trials.
