Now you can add another to your checklist of reasons to go to Club Space this weekend: a modified super-version of the club drug ecstasy has been “100% proven” to kill all blood related cancer cells. Back in 2006 when they started these experiments, they determined that in huge doses, ecstasy and antidepressants proved to shut down the already cancerous cells and prevent them from continuing their toxic growth. But the downside was, the doses of both would have to be in such high amounts that it would be lethal to the patient. Scientists at The University Of Western Australia have chemically modified ecstasy so that some atoms were taken away and replaced with others. Lead researcher Professor John Gordon, from the University of Birmingham, told the BBC: “Particularly the leukemia, the lymphoma and the melanoma, where we’ve tested these new compounds we can wipe out 100% of the cancer cells in some cases.” So now, what would normally take 100mg of ecstasy to do the job (and would kill you) they can do in 1mg.



Scientists are saying that ecstasy-an illegal drug largely connected with hardcore clubgoers-can actually treat several forms of cancer.However, a market-ready medication doctors can prescribe to patients may take another ten years to develop, researchers told BBC Radio.


Birmingham University researchers first discovered the unlikely link between the illegal substance and a viable therapy for common blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma in 2006. Additional research produced an atomically tweaked version of ecstasy’s active compound, MDMA, which bolsters the drug’s cancer-fighting power 100-fold in test tubes. The original 2006 study found a fatally large dose of MDMA would be needed to make a dent in the disease. But the Birmingham team, toiling for five years along with scientists from The University of Western Australia, found a way to maximize MDMA’s cancer-fighting properties, while minimizing its toxic effect on the brain. This is how it works: The drug attaches itself to the fat in diseased cells, weakening the membrane and making them “soapy.” The cancer cells are then essentially washed away, Gordon said. The news is “genuinely exciting,” said Dr. David Grant, director of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Research charity.



“Further work is required but this research is a significant step forward in developing a potential new cancer drug,” he said.