Ecstasy can cure PTSD within weeks, study finds

TREATING soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with the drug Ecstasy effectively cures the condition within weeks, according to a new study.

Scientists found that administering MDMA improved veterans’ receptiveness to traditional psychotherapy.

Psychiatrists last night hailed the results as evidence that using the drug for therapeutic purposes can be effective and safe.

Published in the Lancet Psychiatry, the study involved 22 military veterans, three firefighters and a police officer, who had been diagnosed with PTSD.

Participants were given doses of the drug that ranged from 30mg to 125mg. After two treatment sessions, 86 per cent of participants in a 75mg group, 58 per cent in the 125mg group and 29 per cent in the 30mg group no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD.

Researchers believe exposure to the class-a drug may improve the effect of psychotherapy by engendering feelings of insight and empathy. MDMA is the main active constituent of Ecstasy; both are illegal in the UK.

Lead researcher Dr Allison Feduccia, from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies in Santa Cruz, California, said: “Our study suggests that MDMA might help augment the psychotherapeutic experiences and may have a role to play in the future treatment of PTSD.”