Ecstasy may soon be approved for the treatment of PTSD. The Food and Drug Administrationn has authorized new trials to that effect.
Post Traumatic Disorder has been in the news a lot lately. This is mainly because of all the American veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who suffer from PTSD.
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First medical marijuana and now medical ecstasy, what’s next, medical cocaine?
Ecstasy, or Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), is a recreational psychoactive drug which causes euphoria in its users. This is why it is so popular. It was once used by psychologists in the treatment of illnesses such as depression, but that was when the drug was legal. It was outlawed in America, however, almost 30 years ago and is classified there as a Schedule I Controlled Substance, placing it in the same category as heroine and cocaine.
Now The New York Times has reported that the FDA is willing to give the drug another chance in the treatment of psychological disorders. Such trials go back as early as 2013 and now
large-scale Phase 3 clinical trials have been approved to see if MDMA can be used on PTSD patients. The drug could be offered for prescription use as early as 2021 if the trials are successful.
Iraq and Afghanistan veteran C. J. Hardin is one of the people who took part in experimental treatments for PTSD using ecstasy. He told The New York Times, “Nothing worked for me, so I put aside the idea that I could get better. I just pretty much became a hermit in my cabin and never went out.”
Then Hardin was given MDMA and he says, “It changed my life. It allowed me to see my trauma without fear or hesitation and finally process things and move forward.”
But not everyone is thrilled by this news. Many health care professionals point to the negative side affects and long term damages caused by the use of ecstasy. Others are concerned that once the drug is available for prescription use it will be too easy for people to acquire it illegally as is currently true with medications like Valium, Vicodin and Ritalin.
Whatever happens, do not expect to be able to get ecstasy at your local drug store any time soon.
