New Clinical Trial Brings MDMA One Step Closer To Approval As A Treatment For PTSD

Before there were Ecstasy and Molly, there was MDMA.  Before there was PTSD, there was shell shock, the term used to describe the chronic, debilitating anxiety and other psychological symptoms experienced by veterans returning from trench warfare during the First World War.  The disease got different names after each war as soldiers experienced similar responses to the trauma of combat; after the Second World War, it was called combat fatigue, and after the Vietnam War, it came to be known by its current name of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  In fact, MDMA was around before any of that, before the human response to the horrors of modern war had any name at all.  In 1912, a German chemist named Anton Kollisch accidentally synthesized MDMA during his experiments to develop a drug that would stop bleeding; scientists did not discover the psychoactive properties of MDMA until decades later.  Medical researchers have known about the therapeutic potential of MDMA for even longer than club kids have known about its euphoric effects, though, and a recently published clinical study has brought MDMA one step closer to approval as a treatment for PTSD.  If you are facing criminal charges for the possession of MDMA or any other controlled substances, contact a Central Florida drug crimes defense lawyer.

Clinical Trial Shows That MDMA and Talk Therapy Together Are a Safe, Effective Treatment for PTSD

According to the New York Times, a team of researchers at the University of California recently concluded a clinical trial to study the safety and efficacy of MDMA as a treatment for PTSD.  The researchers, led by Jennifer Mitchell, gave each participant either a low dose of MDMA or a placebo (a pill not containing any medication).  The participants would then undergo a talk therapy session focused on overcoming their traumatic memories.  Among the participants who received MDMA, 62 percent were in remission, with no symptoms of clinically diagnosable PTSD, by the end of the study, compared to only about 30 percent of the placebo group.  This indicates that PTSD plus talk therapy is a more effective treatment than talk therapy alone.  Doctors advise against self-medicating with MDMA as an alternative to professional mental health counseling.

This is encouraging news, not only for people who have not responded well to other PTSD treatments, but for the future of mental health in general.  It was only a few years ago that no one except self-identified weirdos thought that cannabis could make people’s physical and mental health better instead of worse.  Now the medical establishment is starting to take notice.  Research hospitals affiliated with universities are conducting experiments on the effectiveness of psilocybin mushrooms, MDMA, and other substances once considered dangerous street drugs.  Studies like these are helping to change society’s perceptions of drugs and of mental health.  Meanwhile, possession of MDMA remains illegal under most circumstances.

Let Us Help You Today

A Florida drug offense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for the possession or sale of MDMA or any other drug.  Contact FL Drug Defense Group for help today.

Resource:

nytimes.com/2021/05/03/health/mdma-approval.html