MDMA or “Molly” is about to be the subject of the world’s first clinical trial looking into therapeutic benefits of the drug particularly as it pertains to alcohol addiction.
Researchers at Imperial College London have been granted ethical approval to conduct a small MDMA test trial on 20 patients seeking help for alcoholism after repeated failures. For the first time ever, participants will undergo psychotherapy sessions, “while under the influence of 99.99 percent pure MDMA” to treat such addictions.
MDMA, the active ingredient in Ecstasy, creates feelings of love, social connection and empathy, that researchers believe will make participants more susceptible to help offered in psychotherapy sessions.
Similar effects have made therapy in overcoming PTSD more effective.
“It’s using drugs to enhance the relationship between the therapist and the patient, and it allows us to dig down and get to the heart of the problems that drive long-term mental illness,” an involved clinical psychiatrist Ben Sessa said.
“We know that MDMA works really well in helping people who have suffered trauma and it helps to build empathy. Many of my patients who are alcoholics have suffered some sort of trauma in their past and this plays a role in their addiction,” he continued.
Further research on the benefits of MDMA, including treating PTSD and people with autism who suffer from social anxiety, are also being explored and just scratch the surface of what researchers are beginning to explore.
Source: Huffington Post