For the first time in four decades, an illegal psychedelic drug is being clinically tested in Canada. A team of psychiatrists and psychologists in Vancouver are giving 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA)—better known as the party drug ecstasy—to 12 people suffering from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The drug will be administered in therapeutic sessions to help them deal with memories they have found difficult or impossible to confront, as part of a group of clinical trials, including in the U.S. and Israel.
The aim is to see if the club drug will help people with debilitating symptoms—including re-experiencing trauma through flashbacks or nightmares, as well as sky-high stress levels—who have not responded to conventional remedies. More typical treatments for PTSD include daily medications, cognitive behavioural therapy, traditional “talking” treatments and exposure therapies. Despite the range of options, at least a quarter of people coping with PTSD do not respond to any of them.
MDMA has already been studied for treatment-resistant PTSD in Switzerland, Israel and the U.S., and, although the studies are very small, the preliminary results sometimes seem too good to be true. A 2011 paper—the first randomized, controlled study—reported that 83 per cent of patients given MDMA-assisted psychotherapy experienced a significant reduction in their symptoms, compared to just 25 per cent given standard psychotherapy. It’s crucial that the MDMA dosing occurs in conjunction with focused psychotherapy. The current trials consist of a number of sober sessions to establish a trusting relationship with the therapist, followed by three therapy sessions when the patient is also given a set dose of MDMA.
It took six years and $200,000 to get approval from Health Canada, which even required building a bomb-proof room with multiple locks, motion sensors and a locked cabinet bolted to the floor to store a tablespoon of medical-grade MDMA. “Yes, it’s been difficult—but, at the end of the day, they said yes, and I do want to applaud them for saying yes,” says Mark Haden, adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s school of population and public health, and chairman of the Canadian branch of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which is running the study. Haden has devoted much of his recent professional life to advocating for research into the benefits of illegal drugs, such as cannabis for pain and psilocybin (magic mushrooms) for end-of-life anxiety in terminally ill patients. Now the study will help to determine if MDMA could be a treatment for trauma.
The widespread public perception is that MDMA is dangerous and can cause brain damage, or worse. That weekend party warriors have collapsed on the dance floor after popping ecstasy is without question. However, it’s not clear that MDMA is always to blame. A spate of deaths in recent years in Britain were initially attributed to MDMA, but were later found to be due to another drug, PMA, a cheaper synthetic amphetamine known as “Dr. Death” that had been passed off by dealers as the real thing. “PMA is five to 10 times more dangerous than MDMA,” says Dr. David Nutt, a psychiatrist and neuropharmacologist at Imperial College in London.
