FDA Approves Trial of Ecstasy to Treat PTSD

Hey party people, get this! Turns out molly might have more benefits than just a night of fun. That's the hope anyway as the federal government Ok'd clinical trials of the illegal drug as a means to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

MDMA, commonly known as Molly or Ecstasy, has been a popular club drug for decades and is known for its euphoric effects.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the phase 3 clinical trials on Tuesday. The drug has been tested for its ability to make patients more comfortable discussing traumatic events. This makes sense considering it's a "feel good" drug.

Brief history of the drug

According to the National Institutes of Health, ecstasy was created in Germany in the early 1900s. A small number of U.S. psychiatrists started using it on patients in the 1970s under the government's supervision. Then, as the drug hit the underground scene in the 1980s, it was banned by the government.

In a previous trial, ecstasy was given to patients by the psychiatrist during therapy sessions as part of a larger treatment schedule. According to the New York Times, the patients reported a 56 percent decrease in the severity of symptoms on average. And, amazingly enough, by the end of the study, two-thirds of the patients no longer met the criteria for PTSD.

Whats the diff between MDMA, molly and ecstasy?

MDMA is the official scientific name for the drug, while “molly” and “ecstasy” are both commonly-used slang terms. Aka, what the kids say.

However, since MDMA is currently illegal and unregulated, anything sold as “molly” or “ecstasy” could range from being pure MDMA, to being cut with other drugs, to containing no MDMA at all (those bastards!).

Since the molly market is a hot one, it's often cut with other substances. Pure MDMA is trickier to come by, but hopefully soon it will be readily available for those suffering from PTSD. So those folks better break out their jelly bracelets and pacifier suckers!