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The long-term effects of ecstasy and other illegal substances are a matter of great concern. Recent studies strongly suggest that MDMA - currently one of the country's most popular recreational drugs - has a calamitous effect on cerebral function. Is this supported by science or is it yet more moral queasiness? Should we, as Timothy Leary suggested, start to take our nervous systems seriously? The award-winning scientist Colin Blakemore, Director of the Oxford Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Chairman of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and President of the Physiological Society, will take us through the science of these issues, and then discuss the matter further with Les Iversen, author of The Science of Marijuana.