Editing MDMA (section)

===Legal status===
MDMA is legally controlled in most of the world under the UN [[Convention on Psychotropic Substances]] and other international agreements, although exceptions exist for research and limited medical use. In general, the unlicensed use, sale or manufacture of MDMA are all criminal offences.

====Australia====
In Australia, MDMA was rescheduled on 1 July 2023 as a schedule 8 substance (available on prescription) when used in the treatment of PTSD, while remaining a schedule 9 substance (prohibited) for all other uses. For the treatment of PTSD, MDMA can only be prescribed by psychiatrists with specific training and authorisation.<ref>{{cite news |title=MDMA and psilocybin: What GPs need to know |url=https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/gp-opinion/mdma-and-psilocybin-what-gps-need-to-know#:~:text=It%20means%20psilocybin%20and%20MDMA,restricts%20supply%20to%20clinical%20trials. |newspaper=Newsgp |access-date=2023-06-13 |archive-date=13 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613073443/https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/gp-opinion/mdma-and-psilocybin-what-gps-need-to-know#:~:text=It%20means%20psilocybin%20and%20MDMA,restricts%20supply%20to%20clinical%20trials. |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 1986, MDMA was declared an illegal substance because of its allegedly harmful effects and potential for misuse.<ref>{{Cite web | vauthors = Bedi G |date=2018-03-29 |title=Is psychiatry ready for medical MDMA? |url=http://theconversation.com/is-psychiatry-ready-for-medical-mdma-94105 |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=4 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104131905/https://theconversation.com/is-psychiatry-ready-for-medical-mdma-94105 |url-status=live }}</ref> Any non-authorised sale, use or manufacture is strictly prohibited by law. Permits for research uses on humans must be approved by a recognized [[National Health and Medical Research Council|ethics committee]] on human research.

In [[Western Australia]] under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 4.0g of MDMA is the amount required determining a court of trial, 2.0g is considered a presumption with intent to sell or supply and 28.0g is considered trafficking under Australian law.<ref>{{cite web|title=Misuse of Drugs Act 1981|url=https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_4607_homepage.html|publisher=The Government of Western Australia|agency=Department of the Premier and Cabinet|date=23 October 1981|access-date=22 July 2016|archive-date=18 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818132249/https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_4607_homepage.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Australian Capital Territory passed legislation to decriminalise the possession of small amounts of MDMA, which took effect in October 2023.<ref>{{cite news |title=ACT government decriminalises small amounts of illicit drugs including speed, heroin and cocaine |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-20/act-decriminalises-small-amounts-of-illicit-drugs-heroin-cocaine/101552008 |website=ABC News |date=20 October 2022 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=2023-06-13 |archive-date=13 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613074529/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-20/act-decriminalises-small-amounts-of-illicit-drugs-heroin-cocaine/101552008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Roy 2023">{{cite web | vauthors = Roy T |title=The ACT has today decriminalised small amounts of some illicit drugs. But what does that mean? |website=ABC News |date=27 October 2023 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-28/canberra-drug-decriminalisation-laws-begin-today/103032128 |access-date=7 June 2024}}</ref>

====Canada====
In Canada, MDMA is listed as a [[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act#Schedule I|Schedule 1]]<ref name="CDSA Schedule I: Amphetamines">{{cite web|title=Schedule I|url=http://isomerdesign.com/Cdsa/schedule.php?schedule=1&section=18.5&structure=C|work=Controlled Drugs and Substances Act|publisher=Isomer Design|access-date=9 December 2013|archive-date=10 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110200556/http://isomerdesign.com/Cdsa/schedule.php?schedule=1&section=18.5&structure=C|url-status=dead}}</ref> as it is an analogue of amphetamine.<ref name="Definitions and Interpretations">{{cite web|title=Definitions and interpretations|url=http://isomerdesign.com/Cdsa/definitions.php?structure=C|work=Controlled Drugs and Substances Act|publisher=Isomer Design|access-date=9 December 2013|archive-date=10 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110213450/http://isomerdesign.com/Cdsa/definitions.php?structure=C|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act]] was updated as a result of the [[Safe Streets and Communities Act]] changing amphetamines from [[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act#Schedule III|Schedule III]] to Schedule I in March 2012. In 2022, the federal government granted [[British Columbia]] a 3-year exemption, legalizing the possession of up to {{Convert|2.5|g|oz}} of MDMA in the province from February 2023 until February 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Decriminalizing people who use drugs in B.C. |url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/overdose/decriminalization |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=Government of BC |publisher=Government Communications and Public Engagement |archive-date=9 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309091348/https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/overdose/decriminalization |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 7, 2023 |title=B.C. recorded 211 toxic drug deaths — almost 7 a day — in January, coroner reports |work=[[CBC.ca]] |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-toxic-drugs-deaths-january-2023-1.6770643 |access-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-date=8 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308231034/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-toxic-drugs-deaths-january-2023-1.6770643 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Netherlands====
In 2024, a Dutch state commission issued a report advocating for MDMA to be made available to patients with PTSD.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zaken |first=Ministerie van Algemene |date=2024-05-31 |title=MDMA /// Beyond Ecstasy - Report - Government.nl |url=https://www.government.nl/documents/reports/2024/05/31/mdma-beyond-ecstasy |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=www.government.nl |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In June 2011, the Expert Committee on the List (Expertcommissie Lijstensystematiek Opiumwet) issued a report which discussed the evidence for harm and the legal status of MDMA, arguing in favor of maintaining it on List I.<ref name="papers.ssrn.com" /><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/rapporten/2011/06/27/rapport-drugs-in-lijsten.html | title = Rapport Drugs in Lijsten | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120306112130/http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/rapporten/2011/06/27/rapport-drugs-in-lijsten.html | archive-date = 6 March 2012 | work = Rijksoverheid.nl | date = 27 June 2011 | access-date = 29 August 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Committee: the current system of the Opium Act does not have to be changed|url=http://www.government.nl/documents-and-publications/press-releases/2011/06/24/committee-the-current-system-of-the-opium-act-does-not-have-to-be-changed.html|website=government.nl|date=24 June 2011|access-date=29 August 2012|archive-date=29 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429071421/http://www.government.nl/documents-and-publications/press-releases/2011/06/24/committee-the-current-system-of-the-opium-act-does-not-have-to-be-changed.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====United Kingdom====
In the United Kingdom, MDMA was made illegal in 1977 by a modification order to the existing [[Misuse of Drugs Act 1971]]. Although MDMA was not named explicitly in this legislation, the order extended the definition of Class A drugs to include various ring-substituted phenethylamines.<ref name="Drugs 2.0">{{cite book| vauthors = Power M |title=Drugs 2.0 : the web revolution that's changing how the world gets high|date=2013|publisher=Portobello|location=London|isbn=978-1-84627-459-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gj6zMQEACAAJ&q=Drugs+2.0|format=epub file}}</ref><ref name="UK legality">{{cite web | url = http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Primary&PageNumber=57&NavFrom=2&parentActiveTextDocId=1367412&ActiveTextDocId=1367472&filesize=411 | title = Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 | work = Statutelaw.gov.uk | date = 5 January 1998 | access-date = 11 June 2011 | archive-date = 28 August 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210828153546/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/38/schedule/2/part/I/2003-04-01?timeline=true | url-status = live }}</ref> The drug is therefore illegal to sell, buy, or possess without a licence in the UK. Penalties include a maximum of seven years and/or unlimited fine for possession; life and/or unlimited fine for production or trafficking.

Some researchers such as [[David Nutt]] have criticized the scheduling of MDMA, which he determined to be a relatively harmless drug.<ref>{{Cite news|vauthors = Hope C|date = 7 February 2009|title = Ecstasy 'no more dangerous than horse riding'|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/4537874/Ecstasy-no-more-dangerous-than-horse-riding.html|website = Telegraph.co.uk|access-date = 4 December 2015|archive-date = 10 December 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151210201615/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/4537874/Ecstasy-no-more-dangerous-than-horse-riding.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Nutt DJ | title = Equasy-- an overlooked addiction with implications for the current debate on drug harms | journal = Journal of Psychopharmacology | volume = 23 | issue = 1 | pages = 3–5 | date = January 2009 | pmid = 19158127 | doi = 10.1177/0269881108099672 | s2cid = 32034780 }}</ref> An editorial he wrote in the ''[[Journal of Psychopharmacology]]'', where he compared the risk of harm for [[Horse Riding|horse riding]] (1 adverse event in 350) to that of ecstasy (1 in 10,000) resulted in his dismissal, leading to the resignation of several of his colleagues from the [[Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs|ACMD]].<ref name="johnson">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/02/drug-policy-alan-johnson-nutt|title=Why Professor David Nutt was shown the door|vauthors=Johnson A|date=2 November 2009|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=3 November 2009|location=London|archive-date=18 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118223546/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/02/drug-policy-alan-johnson-nutt|url-status=live}}</ref>

====United States====
In the United States, MDMA is listed in [[Controlled Substances Act#Schedule I controlled substances|Schedule I]] of the [[Controlled Substances Act]].<ref>''Schedules of Controlled Substances; Scheduling of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act; Remand'', 53 Fed. Reg. 5,156 (DEA 22 February 1988).</ref> In a 2011 federal court hearing, the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] successfully argued that the sentencing guideline for MDMA/ecstasy is based on outdated science, leading to excessive prison sentences.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/court-rejects-harsh-federal-drug-sentencing-guideline-scientifically-unjustified | title = Court Rejects Harsh Federal Drug Sentencing Guideline as Scientifically Unjustified | work = American Civil Liberties Union | date = 15 July 2011 | access-date = 29 August 2012 | archive-date = 14 March 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140314210920/https://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/court-rejects-harsh-federal-drug-sentencing-guideline-scientifically-unjustified | url-status = live }}</ref> Other courts have upheld the sentencing guidelines. The [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee]] explained its ruling by noting that "an individual federal district court judge simply cannot marshal resources akin to those available to the Commission for tackling the manifold issues involved with determining a proper drug equivalency."<ref name="papers.ssrn.com">{{Cite journal|ssrn=2481227 | vauthors = Hennig AC |title=An Examination of Federal Sentencing Guidelines' Treatment of MDMA ('Ecstasy') |journal=Belmont Law Review |volume=1 |page=267 |year=2014}}</ref>