MDMA is best known as a “rave” or “party” drug by the general public. However, the therapeutic history regarding the use of MDMA is actually quite diverse. Psychiatrists and psychotherapists even used MDMA as a legal prescription drug in the United States from the 1970s to 1985. Its use as a therapeutic drug has been quite varied since the ‘80s, likely due to increased regulations and the “war on drugs.” Thankfully, recent research has become more open to the therapeutic uses of MDMA. In 2013, research was published supporting the use of MDMA, in conjunction with psychotherapy, as a treatment for resistant, chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Oehen, Traber, Widmer, & Schnyder). More recent research has demonstrated even wider reaching positive benefits with regard to the therapeutic use of MDMA. Researchers have shown that the administration of MDMA (100 mg) leads to improved cooperation with trustworthy, but not untrustworthy, opponents participating in the Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD) (Gabay, Kempton, Gilleen, & Mehta, 2018). The PD is often considered to be the “the archetypal paradigm to model cooperation and trust” (Gabay et al., 2018). Given the importance of communication and social decision making in humans (and the role that it has likely played in human evolution), these findings are incredibly important and further support the use of MDMA as a therapeutic tool. Additional time and resources should therefore be allocated for the research of MDMA and its other potential therapeutic effects.
Gabay, A. S., Kempton, M. J., Gilleen, J., & Mehta, M. A. (2018). MDMA increases cooperation and recruitment of social brain areas when playing trustworthy players in an iterated Prisoner's Dilemma. Journal of Neuroscience, 1276-18.
Oehen, P., Traber, R., Widmer, V., & Schnyder, U. (2013). A randomized, controlled pilot study of MDMA (±3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine)-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of resistant, chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Journal of Psychopharmacology, 27(1), 40-52.
I'm a bit impartial to this topic choice since this is exactly what I am writing my thesis about. However, I completely agree with you that additional research of MDMA in therapy is of importance. Interestingly enough, MDMA has actually been approved by the FDA for the third phase of clinical trials. If this third phase is successful, MDMA could potentially be approved as a legal prescription treatment for PTSD which is extremely exciting when considering how effective this drug has been in treating PTSD compared to traditional psychotherapy techniques. However, I'm sure that I'm not alone in wondering about how receptive society may be to this treatment. There is such a strong stigma about MDMA which could relate back to the 80's when the drug became scheduled as a class one drug. I'm curious how well do you think MDMA will be received by society as a viable therapeutic drug? Do you think this stigma poses any potential barriers to this drug's federal approval?
ReplyDeleteI think it would be difficult for the FDA to approve MDMA for medical use due to the fact that the drug does have a lot of adverse effects. There is also an after effect of feeling confused, anxious, memory problem, insomnia, irritability, impulsiveness and aggression for a week. I do agree that more research needs to be performed to better understand MDMA treatment for PTSD, however, I also think another question is to ask "does the pro effect out-weight the con?" Also what are the long-term effect of MDMA?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/297064.php