Ecstasy Approval on the Plate as FDA Mulls Party Drug for PTSD

Veterans and others suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, may have a new treatment plan – one that includes the taking of a pill that’s been popularly popped in recent years at youth-oriented parties, Ecstasy.

Also called “Molly,” the pill, which contains the substance MDMA, brings on euphoria in users. And it’s that effect that led the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies to initiate a clinical study to see if PTSD sufferers who weren’t responding to traditional treatments could see some medical benefits from an MDMA sample.

So far, some say it’s working.

From Business Insider:

“After veteran Tony Macie came back from Iraq in 2007, he learned he had post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Macie went to the VA ‘on and off’ and tried the standard therapy.

“‘And then I kind of just fell off the radar, secluded, and did my own thing and got really dependent on a lot of the meds,’ Macie explains in a video by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.

“The retired sergeant then became part of a clinical trial organized by MAPS …

“‘One of the first things I said when it kicked in was, ‘This is what I’ve been looking for,'” Macie says in the video. “I reconnected with myself and did a lot of internal work, and afterwards it was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.'”

The clinical trials have gone well enough that the Food and Drug Administration has given the go-ahead for more studies. Specifically, the FDA said OK to what’s called Phase 3 clinical trials, the last stage of required human testing that often leads to approvals of new drugs.

In other words: Ecstasy could be approved for clinical use and prescription as soon as 2021.

One study apparently showed 83 percent of test subjects reported the loss of PTSD symptoms after two months of Molly. And four years later, these same subjects said they still felt fine – no PTSD.

The final testing phase requires the participation of hundreds. It will go forth in 2016, and span about four or five years.

MDMA, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, brings on feelings of “mental stimulation, emotional warmth, empathy toward others, a general sense of well being and decreased anxiety.”

It can also bring anxiety, restlessness, aggression, sadness, sleep problems, thirst and loss of appetite, reduced interest in sex, reduced mental capacities and irritability.

And on the physical side, NIDA finds the drug can cause nausea, chills and sweating, muscle cramping, blurry vision, dehydration, high blood pressure, heart and kidney failures and arrythmia. Overdosing can lead to loss of consciousness and seizures.

“As noted,” NIDA wrote, “MDMA is not a benign drug. … Because of its stimulant properties and the environments in which it is often taken, MDMA is associated with vigorous physical activity for extended periods. This can lead to one of the most significant, although rare, acute adverse effects – a marked rise in body temperature (hyperthermia). Treatment of hyperthermia requires prompt medical attention.”