Happy Pills for the Terminally Ill

Medical researchers apparently will go to all sorts of lengths to get their freak on. In another example of a desperately needed medical investigation, the FDA has given the green light to a four-month pilot study exploring whether Ecstasy, the ever-popular rave drug renowned for causing feelings of euphoria, could help relieve the suffering of terminally ill patients.

Sponsoring the research is the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. On its web site, MAPS touts the study, adding that “the longest day of winter has passed, and maybe so has the decades-long era of resistance to psychedelic research.”

Hmm. Does Gatorade quench a thirst? Does spinach make Popeye stronger? Does Michael Jackson cruise Chuck E. Cheese? What exactly is the mystery here?

We have no doubt that Ecstasy can induce feelings of happiness and comfort for the terminally ill (not to mention give them the impulse to hump everything in sight). But we think oncologists should brace themselves to see an awful lot of silly hats and glowsticks.