FDA green lights MDMA (ecstasy) research to help treat PTSD

[The Internet]

Interesting, and good for these people who are having success!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/us/ptsd-mdma-ecstasy.html

I can totally see how this works. I've tried ecstasy a few times over the years. On two occasions, there was unpleasantness. One was simply my girlfriend and myself dealing with a painful memory, the other was a highly charged situation with the potential for reactions of anger, violence, and other negative emotions.

Well....they always say you can't have a bad time on Ecstasy, there's no such thing as a bad trip on it, and I found it to be true. On these two occasions, I - and the people I was with - was able to process the "pain" with empathy, understanding, and in a way, some emotional distance. More like emotion substitute. It's hard to explain. It's like you feel above the pain and can examine it and even feel emotional about it, but you have this other feeling acting as a counterweight, this confident, positive feeling. You never feel self-conscious on ecstasy, or insecure.

It's terrible for your body though, it's not to be done all the time! Don't get me wrong! But as a special therapy.... I could most definitely see how the use of this drug - which was developed for therapeutic reasons in the first place - could really help people get in touch with - and get past - some emotional baggage, given the right conditions.

(PS: Do I get a prize for most acronyms in a subject line? 🙂

 

[Wolf]

That's terrific news! I like how the article points out that the therapeutic benefits were found in the 70's, but once people starting using it for fun, the FDA shut down everything.
Glad to see we're making some progress with it again.

 

[The Internet]

That's terrific news! I like how the article points out that the therapeutic benefits were found in the 70's, but once people starting using it for fun, the FDA shut down everything.
Glad to see we're making some progress with it again.

......and now they're using mushrooms to treat cancer patients!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/h...oms-psilocybin-cancer-anxiety-depression.html

 

[chicago]

Very cool. Theres a lot of new ideas popping up in the treatment of PTSD. LSD, ecstasy. Id be a bit nervous to try it myself, but ill be interested in reading the findings.

 

[The Internet]

I'd be nervous to confront bad feelings and memories on acid or mushrooms, but ecstasy is like a cushion of good feeling, and you feel in control of your behavior, just very happy and positive and confident (and sensual!). The most you could freak out on ecstasy might be dancing, or getting really into a sensory thing....one might try to hit on the therapist! But I could see, in that state of empathy, taking a look at hurtful experiences because you're sort of hovering above it.

Hopefully this research will continue because uh....well....you know......lol......shhhh.....

(a good side effect will be that, although if it ever gets used widespread then it's bound to be used recreationally and be available on the black market- and why that's good is because the stuff people are taking as ecstasy now (and since the late 90s) is not the real MDA that we got in the 80s, which was way cleaner, and didn't have coke or other crap mixed into it.....no grinding of your teeth! I think what passes as ecstasy now is way unhealthier than the real deal.).

 

[Sensualswitch10]

Great couple of articles Leo! Thanks for sharing!

From the mushroom article:
“Medical marijuana got its foot in the door by making the appeal that ‘cancer patients are suffering, they’re near death, so for compassionate purposes, let’s make it available,’ ” he said. “And then you’re able to extend this drug to other purposes.”

That type thinking drives me nuts! Some people may abuse a drug, so let's make it illegal for the people who could actually be helped by it
Those compounds are currently available, but as you pointed out, they're usually cut with all kinds of other garbage. They're potentially unsafe exactly because they are illegal and the safeguards in place in the pharmaceutical industry don't apply.

It's past time that we put that nonsense to bed and embrace better living through chemistry!

 

[Bugman]

Great couple of articles Leo! Thanks for sharing!

From the mushroom article:
“Medical marijuana got its foot in the door by making the appeal that ‘cancer patients are suffering, they’re near death, so for compassionate purposes, let’s make it available,’ ” he said. “And then you’re able to extend this drug to other purposes.”

My late brother was a young man in the 60s but never used drugs. Hell, he seldom touched alcohol. But years later, while going through chemo and radiation he started smoking marijuana and it made a world of difference in how he felt.

That type thinking drives me nuts! Some people may abuse a drug, so let's make it illegal for the people who could actually be helped by it

It's past time that we put that nonsense to bed and embrace better living through chemistry!

Yep.

 

[kopfhorer]

Interesting, and good for these people who are having success!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/us/ptsd-mdma-ecstasy.html

About farkin' time they started experimenting with this drug for otherwise hard-to-treat conditions.

 

[BlasterMaster]

I wonder if this will continue under the Trump administration.