In a stunning move, the DEA has allowed a clinical trial which would give patients with life-ending illnesses access to MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. This is a huge step forward ladies and gentlemen. The DEA has been exceptionally resistant to research on drugs such as MDMA, LSD and marijuana in the past. Without DEA approvals, researchers are not able to study controlled compounds, and have in the past spent years waiting for the DEA to ultimately reject their appeals. It seems the times they are a’changing.
Brad Burge, communications director for MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) reinforced that research has shown that pure MDMA has been proven sufficiently safe to be used in a therapeutic environment. I wanted to stress that this is a new step forward, even if you’ve been paying attention to the MDMA/PTSD trials that MAPS has been coordinating. While MDMA has been previously studied for its uses in PTSD, this is the first time the DEA has approved a study investigating it to be used for end-of-life illness anxiety and existential distress. Currently, psilocybin, or the active ingredient in mushrooms, is being studied at NYU to help people deal with anxiety & distress associated with an end-stage cancer diagnosis.
This is a kind of issue that doctors and psychologists have been trying to deal with for decades, and pharmaceuticals really don’t help. Only psychedelics have been shown to be effective in causing existential relief, improving quality of life and decreasing anxiety, weeks and months after they’ve been ingested. Xanax, coke and lithium don’t even come close, guys. This is a really important thing that’s happened, so can we not go and cock it all up by taking fist fulls of molly this summer and take it away from those who need it.
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is a multi-session treatment plan that provides people with a whole host of sober coping skills in addition to experiential processing afterwards. There’s a whole host of benefits when it comes to this being added to good treatment, but it’s going to take time for the scientists to prove something we all had a feeling about in the first place. Let’s act right, focus on enjoying ourselves safely and getting one back for those who are tangling with the DEA every day.
Photo via Al Jazeera