Prophet of Ecstasy
| Prophet of Ecstasy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Karen Cho, Elias Varoutsos |
| Written by | Charles Beaudette, Jeffrey Blatt, Lori Braun, Karen Cho |
| Produced by | Lori Braun, Sergeo Kirby |
| Starring | Gregg Lowe, Daniel Rindress-Kay, Stephanie Sy, Michael Clegg, Rick Doblin, Carina Leveriza-Franz, Bob McMillen, others |
| Cinematography | Alexandre Bussière, Simon Lamarre-Ledoux |
Production company | Laurus Productions |
| Distributed by | CBC |
Release date |
|
Running time | 1 hour, 45 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Prophet of Ecstasy is a 2026 documentary film about Michael Clegg and his 1980s and early 1990s operation producing and selling MDMA ("Ecstasy").[1][2][3][4] Clegg's operation, also known as The Texas Group, is credited with popularizing MDMA as a recreational drug.[5][6][7][8] The film stars Clegg, Carina Leveriza-Franz, Bob McMillen, Rick Doblin, and others.[1][2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Freeman, Lucas (17 June 2026). "Ecstasy's origin story: How a would-be priest introduced MDMA to the world". CBC. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- 1 2 Dart, Chris (16 June 2026). "How a former seminarian sold so much MDMA, they had to make it illegal". CBC. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
- ↑ Middleton, Richard (24 August 2026). "Prophet Of Ecstasy". Broadcast. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
- ↑ Elias C. Varoutsos, Karen Cho (directors); Lori Braun, Charles Beaudette, Karen Cho (writers); Sergeo Kirby (producer); Michael Clegg, Bob McMillen, Carina Leveriza-Franz, Rick Doblin, others (stars) (8 June 2026). Prophet of Ecstasy (Motion picture). Canada: CBC Gem. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
- ↑ Nuwer, R. (2023). I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-63557-957-4. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- ↑ Nuwer, Rachel (4 June 2023). "How MDMA Became the Club Drug of the Century". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- ↑ Demopoulos, Alaina (27 June 2023). "CIA experiments, Mormon ravers and reformed racists: the untold history of MDMA". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- ↑ O'Brien S, Nutt D (January 2025). "MDMA-assisted therapy: challenges, clinical trials, and the future of MDMA in treating behavioral disorders". CNS Spectr. 30 (1): e15. doi:10.1017/S1092852925000057. PMC 13064729. PMID 39882724.
MDMA's rise was catalyzed in the early 1980s when Michael Clegg, a former Catholic priest, introduced it to the Dallas club scene under the name "Therapy." Its success there led Clegg to former marijuana distributor Bob McMillen, proposing to sell the drug on the West Coast. After McMillen sampled MDMA's euphoric effects, he agreed—insisting on rebranding from the "corny" "Therapy" to "Ecstasy", the name of the album he listened to during his first experience. Within 4 days, McMillen had sold 5000 units of rebranded Ecstasy.5 McMillen's large-scale distribution marked MDMA's transition from a therapeutic tool to a recreational drug, rapidly spreading through underground networks. Despite its 1985 criminalization, Ecstasy flourished in the rave/club scenes of the late 1980s and 1990s, becoming emblematic of the era's dance culture.
External links
[edit]
 | This article related to a Canadian documentary film made from 2020 through 2029 is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |