Pubdate: Sun, 28 Apr 2013
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2013 Cincinnati Enquirer
Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Author: Lisa Bernard-Kuhn, Cincinnati Enquirer
Page: A10

ILLEGAL ECSTASY DRUG BEING STUDIED AS PTSD TREATMENT

Dubbed the "hug drug" and "X" by its users, the illegal drug ecstasy 
is being researched as a possible treatment for sufferers of serious 
stress disorders.

But a lot more research is needed before ecstasy-assisted 
psychotherapy ever would be made legal in the United States, said 
Gary Gudelsky, a University of Cincinnati professor who has spent 25 
years studying side effects of the drug on the brain.

"It's got a lot of baggage to overcome," Gudelsky said.

The effectiveness of the drug known clinically as MDMA 
(3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine) is the focus of a privately 
financed study involving at least 12 U.S. military veterans, police 
officers and firefighters with post-traumatic stress disorder. The 
study is being conducted in conjunction with the Medical University 
of South Carolina and the Multidisciplinary Association for 
Psychedelic Studies, a Santa Cruz, Calif.based nonprofit that raises 
money for research aimed at developing psychedelics and marijuana 
into prescription medicines.

Backers of the research say ecstasy's ability to induce feelings of 
euphoria and affection allow users to become comfortable discussing 
difficult or traumatic emotions and memories. That's been proven in 
some preliminary studies in the U.S. and abroad, Gudelsky said.

A popular rave-party drug in the late 1980s and 1990s, ecstasy was 
banned from production in the U.S in 1986 and listed as a Schedule I 
drug under the Controlled Substances Act. It shares that category 
with other drugs that include heroin and that the government has 
deemed to have no medical use and a high potential for abuse.

However, the Food and Drug Administration has approved ecstasy's 
production for research in some U.S. labs.

Participants in the study in California, underway now, receive weekly 
nondrug related psychotherapy sessions, along with three daylong 
therapy sessions involving varying levels of ecstasy, according to 
the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. The 
findings will be compared with a study that examined the use of 
ecstasy with women survivors of sexual abuse and assault.

Updates on the study are being posted on www.maps.org.

Ecstasy is similar to methamphetamine in its chemical makeup, but it 
has very different psychological and physiological effects in its 
users, Gudelsky said.

"If I gave 50 people MDMA, I'd have 50 new best friends - not because 
they are tripping but because they would just feel more connected," he said.

That's because in low doses the drug increases serotonin levels in 
the brain, which impacts oxytocin and prolactin hormones that are 
associated with trust and bonding.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom