Ecstacy 'Party Drug' Could Be Legalized By 2021; FDA Approves MDMA Final Clinical Trials To Treat PTSD

The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA, otherwise known as Ecstasy, in treating PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). If the trials are successful, the party drug can be used to treat PTSD and will be considered a prescription drug.

Speaking to New York Times, Dr. Charles R. Marmar, Head of Psychiatry at NYU Langone School of Medicine said that the treatment of PTSD only covers 30-40 percent of patients, so therapies need more treatment options. But, he also has reservations with the long-term effect of the drug on the brain and the possibility of abuse.

The research involving MDMA as PTSD treatment mean that the party drug will be used within a therapy period. The drug will be administered by psychotherapists during the course of treatment. According to The Guardian, MDMA will not be sold the same way as marijuana, patients can't bring the pills home, and will be administered only by licensed psychotherapists.

While FDA approval of MDMA Phase 3 clinical trials is a big leap to bringing the drug to PTSD patients, there is still a lot to do with 50 percent of drugs commonly fail during this phase. But if the drug is approved as a treatment for PTSD, MDMA can be made legal by 2021.

Jessi Appleton, a 32-year-old who has suffered PTSD for decades due to child abuse told PBS.Org that she had tried all therapies possible, including anti-depressants, anti-anxiety pills, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and brain spotting. But while EMDR worked a little, she was still stuck, and suicidal. The experimental treatment with MDMA helped her deal with PTSD, saying that she was finally able to face the problem head on.

Other details will be revealed in the coming months but Phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA for PTSD treatment would likely involve more than 230 patients around the country.