'Party' Drug Could be PTSD Treatment

[unhappycamper]

'Party' Drug Could be PTSD Treatment
March 04, 2009
Military.com|by Bryan Mitchell

If you discovered it in your kid’s room there’d be hell to pay. If it appeared in a random urinalysis, it could end your career. And if you told your friends you were considering taking it, they might think you’ve suffered a mid-life crisis.

But a South Carolina psychiatrist and a Harvard-educated researcher are looking for veterans who’ve been through hell and are willing to explore a fresh way of getting past the trauma using a drug long associated with the late-night party crowd.

Ecstasy, clinically known as MDMA and outlawed recreationally for decades, is making a gradual comeback in the medical community as therapists rediscover its therapeutic value – especially in dealing with post traumatic stress disorder.

“I heard about it and I decided to give it a try,” said a former Army Ranger who was one of two veterans who participated in a recent study on the effects of Ecstasy for treating PTSD. “It’s an extremely positive thing. I feel so lucky that I got to take part in the project.

“It’s basically like years of therapy in two or three hours. You can’t understand it until you’ve experienced it.”


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/party-drug-could-be-ptsd-treatment.html

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. 20 yrs ago

research on the elderly was stopped by the FDA (with LOTS of pressure from Big Pharma). Apparently, MDMA relieve symptoms of stress, chronic pain, memory loss, depression and made the elderly measurably more comfortable for months after a dose. It even seemed to arrest Alzheimer's for a time.

Too good to be true? no, not profitable enough for Big Pharma.
FDA stopped all research, cancelled all funding, and made profits more important than progress.

[tavalon]

2. It's a heart opening drug

They were able to progress with patients mental health issues much more rapidly.