In the Netherlands, ecstasy (MDMA, 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine) is a widely used drug with about 370,000 last year users. The Netherlands is also an important export country for MDMA. Criminals produce MDMA and distribute it from the Netherlands to the rest of Europe, Asia, and Australia. The illegal production and sales of ecstasy has led to an emerging criminal activity in recent decades. Although the dependence liability and adverse health effects are relatively low, MDMA is schedules in the same class (List I of the Opium Act) as amphetamine, cocaine, and heroin (hard drugs). The unfounded classification of MDMA as a hard drug and the increased crime related to the production of and trafficking in MDMA were the reason for making an analysis of the effects of alternatives for the current Dutch ecstasy policy. Using ‘multi-decision multi-criterion decision analysis’ (MD-MCDA), an expert panel developed the optimal options for a new MDMA policy. The results obtained should support initiatives to formulate the legal basis of a better MDMA policy that considers the increasing MDMA-related criminality, societal developments and scientific insights into health risks of ecstasy use. Despite a slight increase in the expected number of users, the MD-MCDA based optimal policy model, which advocates, among other things, regulated sale of MDMA to users, offers several important advantages. In addition to improved quality of MDMA-products and user information, implementation of the optimal model will reduce health damage, MDMA-related serious crime, and environmental damage