Federal health advisers have rejected the first-ever proposal to use MDMA as a treatment for PTSD. The nonbinding vote is a potential setback for psychedelic advocates hoping to move the banned drugs into the mainstream. A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration cited flawed study data, questionable research conduct and significant drug risks, including the potential for heart problems, injury and abuse.
However, strong supporters of MDMA therapy continue to praise its effectiveness, including advocate Lori Tipton who took part in the drug's clinical trials. Doctors diagnosed the New Orleans resident with post traumatic stress disorder after Hurricane Katrina hit her hometown. "My brother passed away from an overdose.
And then after that, my mother took the lives of two women and then took the life of herself. And I was the person who discovered their bodies within the house," Tipton said. "I had crazy mood swings, panic attacks, insomnia.
I had intrusive thoughts, suicidal ideation." Various forms of therapy didn't help. In 2018, she enrolled in a clinical trial to test the psychedelic drug MDMA, which is also known as ecstasy or molly.
Tipton underwent three supervised sessions where she was given microdoses followed by patient-guided talk therapy. She says reconnecting with buried memories opened an avenue for self healing. "It allowed me to see that from a very different perspective, and to understand, like the amount of shame that I was holding on to and fe.
