*As of this writing MDMA is still illegal for use in the USA, but is in current clinical drug trials (Sept 2020). Please DO NOT contact me for more information as to how to do this with the consideration that it is still ILLEGAL. This post is for informational purposes only.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a massive problem in our society today. We have sexual assaults, physical abuse, verbal abuse, the atrocious effects of war, and many other forms of trauma that lead to PTSD.
It is then characterized by negative thoughts, hopelessness about the future, difficulty maintaining close relationships, lack of interest in activities you used to enjoy, and feeling emotionally numb.
PTSD can also occur in other forms of trauma that may seem less “damaging” but are equally as significant. In 1957, an Academy Award-winning film called “The Three Faces of Eve” showed how a little girl got multiple personality disorder from a seemingly harmless trauma (I won’t spoil it for you).
This experience was so traumatic for her that her personality split in 3 ways to cope with this trauma. Even seemingly minor things, like getting stung by a bee as a child, can be traumatic and cause PTSD for people. We cannot dismiss any part of our story.
PTSD is also notoriously resistant to traditional therapy and drugs are very ineffective because they never do anything for the root cause of the issue.
One type of therapy has been designated a breakthrough therapy by the FDA for how it is the most effective treatment ever discovered to help people with this issue with a potential 50-70% cure rate. It is a treatment I think the whole world should have access to in controlled, regulated, and loving environments.
This breakthrough therapy is one that “demonstrates that the investigational product is intended to treat a serious and life-threatening condition, with preliminary evidence supporting a substantial advantage at a clinically significant endpoint over existing drugs.”
PTSD is a serious and life-threatening condition that costs us an average of 34 billion dollars per year in hospitalization costs.
This breakthrough therapy is called MDMA assisted psychotherapy. MDMA is known on the street as the party drug ecstasy or molly. Long before MDMA became known as a party drug psychiatrists in the 1970’s were using it in safe, controlled settings and getting remarkable results with their patients.
The Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is an organization of doctors and therapists that have been working for over 30 years to get this drug approved for medical use. Listen to a podcast about MDMA recently done with Tim Ferriss and the founder of MAPS Rick Doblin. Currently, it is a schedule 1 drug, which means that it is highly addictive and has no medicinal value. It is not highly addictive and has incredible medicinal value.
For a drug to be approved for medical use, it has to go through 3 phases demonstrating safety and efficacy. This process costs tens of millions of dollars, but they are in the final phase and it could be legalized, moved to a schedule 3 drug, and be in use in therapeutic settings within the next 2 years. In Phase 2 trials it was demonstrated that in just 3 sessions (each session lasting 6-8 hours), 61% of the participants no longer qualified as having PTSD, which is extraordinary.
The side effects are very minimal, no continual use is needed and it is remarkably effective.
When consumed, MDMA creates such empathy and love that one can access their trauma and work towards resolving it. Many people have such incredible trauma that they can’t even talk about it or access it with such an aide.
I think this is one of the most remarkable uses of a drug that has ever been seen. When done in safe therapeutic settings, it is an incredible healing agent. A wonderful documentary has been created which follows the journey of two people that were a part of this drug trial in Israel. It is called Trip of Compassion and it is a documentary that made me cry both times I watched it because of how beautiful it is. I highly recommend watching it.
Other fantastic resources include a couple of books. Trust, Surrender and Receive: How MDMA can release us from PTSD and trauma by Annie Other and Psychedelic Medicine: The Healing Powers of LSD, MDMA, Psilocybin, and Ayahuasca by Dr. Richard Miller are two other great resources if you are interested in educating yourself.
It is very critical for people to have access to this type of medicine in the future, which is why it is important to educate yourself on such issues and advocate for it if you ever have the chance. With pandemics, job losses and so many other things, many people will be going through very traumatizing times ahead.
