The suggestion that the drug Ecstasy could be associated with Parkinson’s disease was, understandably, one of the most of the convincing reasons for keeping it illegal. Now it turns out that the research was, to put it mildly, flawed:

As the Guardian reports, “the study [establishing the connection] was based on the fact that laboratory monkeys and baboons had a severe reaction to the drug when it was injected in small doses. But it emerged this weekend that the vials of liquid did not contain ecstasy. Instead, the animals received a dose of methamphetamine, or speed – a drug widely known to affect the body’s dopamine system. The tubes had somehow been mislabelled by the supplier.”

Fair enough, mistakes can be made – and one negative finding is not enough to call a drug safe – but can we now expect the drug warriors to publicize the fact that this particular risk has been massively overstated – or would that be expecting too much?