PTSD will soon be treated with ECSTASY in clinical trials

Patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will soon be prescribed ECSTASY as part of a major clinical trial.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already successfully tested the clubbing drug, also known as MDMA, on former soldiers who have struggled dealing with the often horrific memories of war.

South Carolina psychiatrist Michael Mithoefer, who conducted the trials with his nurse wife Ann, said: “The first one we did was with victims of crime-related PTSD — childhood sexual assaults, rape or assault.

“When that went well we did one with military veterans, firefighters and police officers. The veterans were mostly people who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

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One patient, C J Hardin, served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was injured on more than one occasion.

He suffered from depression and a fear of loud noises and crowds once he returned to civilian life and even considered suicide.

He said that therapy sessions encouraged him to to explore painful memories while under the influence of MDMA, which “vastly reduced all the symptoms”.

If the latest phase in the trials proves successful then the drug could become legally prescribed for war veterans and survivors of violent crime and sexual assaults in the U.S. before potentially reaching the UK.

Dr Mithoefer added: “The second stage could include sites in England and other parts of Europe, as well as Israel.

Despite the FDA approval for more tests, Charles Marmar, head of psychiatry at New York University’s medical school, warned that there was a risk of psychiatric illness with long-term use of MDMA.

Top pic: Rex