Guns and Glow-Sticks?

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   Ecstasy trials for combat stress 

David Adam, science correspondent
Thursday February 17, 2005
The Guardian 

American soldiers traumatised by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are to be offered the drug ecstasy to help free them of flashbacks and recurring nightmares. 
The US food and drug administration has given the go-ahead for the soldiers to be included in an experiment to see if MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, can treat post-traumatic stress disorder. 
Scientists behind the trial in South Carolina think the feelings of emotional closeness reported by those taking the drug could help the soldiers talk about their experiences to therapists. Several victims of rape and sexual abuse with post-traumatic stress disorder, for whom existing treatments are ineffective, have been given MDMA since the research began last year. 
Michael Mithoefer, the psychiatrist leading the trial, said: "It's looking very promising. It's too early to draw any conclusions but in these treatment-resistant people so far the results are encouraging. 
"People are able to connect more deeply on an emotional level with the fact they are safe now." 
He is about to advertise for war veterans who fought in the last five years to join the study. 
According to the US national centre for post-traumatic stress disorder, up to 30% of combat veterans suffer from the condition at some point in their lives. 
Known as shell shock during the first world war and combat fatigue in the second, the condition is characterised by intrusive memories, panic attacks and the avoidance of situations which might force sufferers to relive their wartime experiences. 
Dr Mithoefer said the MDMA helped people discuss traumatic situations without triggering anxiety. 
"It appears to act as a catalyst to help people move through whatever's been blocking their success in therapy." 
The existing drug-assisted therapy sessions last up to eight hours, during music is played. The patients swallow a capsule containing a placebo or 125mg of MDMA - about the same or a little more than a typical ecstasy tablet. 
Psychologists assess the patients before and after the trial to judge whether the drug has helped. 
The study has provoked controversy, because significant doubts remain about the long-term risks of ecstasy. 
Animal studies suggest that it lowers levels of the brain chemical serotonin, and some politicians and anti-drug campaigners have argued that research into possible medical benefits of illegal drugs presents a falsely reassuring message. 
The South Carolina study marks a resurgence of interest in the use of controlled psychedelic and hallucinogenic drugs. Several studies in the US are planned or are under way to investigate whether MDMA, LSD and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, can treat conditions ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder to anxiety in terminal cancer patients.

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James Lee Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: June 05 2004 Status: Offline Points: 3525	Topic: Guns and Glow-Sticks? Posted: February 26 2005 at 13:25
	Ecstasy trials for combat stress David Adam, science correspondent Thursday February 17, 2005 The Guardian American soldiers traumatised by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are to be offered the drug ecstasy to help free them of flashbacks and recurring nightmares. The US food and drug administration has given the go-ahead for the soldiers to be included in an experiment to see if MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, can treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Scientists behind the trial in South Carolina think the feelings of emotional closeness reported by those taking the drug could help the soldiers talk about their experiences to therapists. Several victims of rape and sexual abuse with post-traumatic stress disorder, for whom existing treatments are ineffective, have been given MDMA since the research began last year. Michael Mithoefer, the psychiatrist leading the trial, said: "It's looking very promising. It's too early to draw any conclusions but in these treatment-resistant people so far the results are encouraging. "People are able to connect more deeply on an emotional level with the fact they are safe now." He is about to advertise for war veterans who fought in the last five years to join the study. According to the US national centre for post-traumatic stress disorder, up to 30% of combat veterans suffer from the condition at some point in their lives. Known as shell shock during the first world war and combat fatigue in the second, the condition is characterised by intrusive memories, panic attacks and the avoidance of situations which might force sufferers to relive their wartime experiences. Dr Mithoefer said the MDMA helped people discuss traumatic situations without triggering anxiety. "It appears to act as a catalyst to help people move through whatever's been blocking their success in therapy." The existing drug-assisted therapy sessions last up to eight hours, during music is played. The patients swallow a capsule containing a placebo or 125mg of MDMA - about the same or a little more than a typical ecstasy tablet. Psychologists assess the patients before and after the trial to judge whether the drug has helped. The study has provoked controversy, because significant doubts remain about the long-term risks of ecstasy. Animal studies suggest that it lowers levels of the brain chemical serotonin, and some politicians and anti-drug campaigners have argued that research into possible medical benefits of illegal drugs presents a falsely reassuring message. The South Carolina study marks a resurgence of interest in the use of controlled psychedelic and hallucinogenic drugs. Several studies in the US are planned or are under way to investigate whether MDMA, LSD and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, can treat conditions ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder to anxiety in terminal cancer patients.


maani Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Founding Moderator Joined: January 30 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2632	Posted: February 26 2005 at 16:18
	James: I could go into an extremely long, detailed treatise on the inference of the last paragraph of the article. LSD, psilocybin and mescaline were already undergoing such tests in the early to mid 1960s! There were famous tests with LSD at Columbia University Medical in which one subject jumped off a building because he thought he could fly: that stopped the tests cold. Tests were also ongoing with 'shrooms and mesc at that time in other university medical studies. All of those studies - and especially the ones that showed anything positive - were "squashed" by the feds, who wanted everything "hush-hush" and applicable only for military purposes. I could go on and on, with lots of both first-hand and second-hand knowledge here, but I won't. Suffice it to add one more thing. If the feds - and especially the military - claim to be "planning to test," that means they have already done the tests. If they say that are "doing the tests," that means they are already using it in battlefield situations - almost certainly without the soliders knowing it. That's simply the way "military propaganda" works. Peace.

James Lee Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: June 05 2004 Status: Offline Points: 3525	Posted: February 26 2005 at 20:16
	Don't forget that Ken Kesey got his acid kickstart as a test subject! Personally, I'm in favor of it. Three out of every four military folks that I've ever met would probably benefit a little from some MDMA (not acid, though...the paranoia would get to 'em) as long as they stopped before the brain tumors set in. After that article, I had to go and watch "Jacob's Ladder" again and imagine how different everything would have turned out if they'd been on ecstasy. That and to see Elizabeth Pena in her prime.