Ecstasy trials for combat stress

[ze_dscherman]

David Adam, science correspondent
Thursday February 17, 2005
The Guardian

American soldiers traumatised by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are to be offered the drug ecstasy to help free them of flashbacks and recurring nightmares.
The US food and drug administration has given the go-ahead for the soldiers to be included in an experiment to see if MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, can treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

Scientists behind the trial in South Carolina think the feelings of emotional closeness reported by those taking the drug could help the soldiers talk about their experiences to therapists. Several victims of rape and sexual abuse with post-traumatic stress disorder, for whom existing treatments are ineffective, have been given MDMA since the research began last year.

Some more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1416073,00.html

[whistle]

1. Oh brother, this should drive the point home regarding the...

...corruption of war and the pointless human toll that war extracts at all levels. Now it's the Rush Limbaugh drug and its various derivatives that our top military uses to make war tolerable.

<snip>

Dangers of Using Ecstasy

Name of Drug: Ecstasy (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine)

Street names: Ecstasy ,"X","E", Adam, MDMA, many others

Proper Use: NONE but it was originally used by psychologists and therapists as a therapeutic tool, an acute anti-depressant.


ABUSE Effects:

There is a MYTH that doing Ecstasy once in a while will not hurt you.Besides that fact that there are many FAKE ecstasy pills being sold and causing deaths Please read this teenagers (tragic story) , just doing one pill can cause a minor burnout.

Getting high on Ecstasy can lead you to do things that you normally wouldn’t such as risky unprotected sex or taking other unwise chances. People will build a tolerance to ecstasy and soon you will be doing more than one pill just to get the same effect as before. Ecstasy is psychologically addicting.
<more>

<link> http://www.oxyabusekills.com/Ecstasy.html

[Dark]

3. Ecstasy's danger is overhyped. It's not even as bad as alcohol.

But you are right that a big problem is people selling stuff that they say is X when in reality it is something much cheaper to make, or worse cut with heroin or coke.

[arcos]

5. You are right, it is way overhyped...

A year ago, British magazine MixMag published an investigation about drug use, and they estimated that in the UK over 3 million ecstasy pills are used PER WEEKEND. Right now I can't remember the total number of deaths because of ecstacy, but it wasn't even 50.

And yes, one of the main problems is fake ecstasy. Real MDMA will very hardly cause death, although its abuse will obviously be harmful.

[stellanoir]

2. even with additional substences

I'm not quite sure that one can reconcile genocide chemically.

I feel for these guys totally and just learned that a friend's son has served and took shrapnel and will have to serve again. It hurts like hell that these guys are serving and have no recourse whatsoever. Ecstasy may help temporarily but will not ameliorate the fundamental problem.

Don't kill.

[rockedthevoteinMA]

4. It frightens me that they are going to use it on soldiers with PTSD

whose mental stability is already compromised. I know that the long term effects are often exaggerated, but I think with these poor people, it could possibly just push them over the edge. I heard that it takes two weeks for a person's brain to build their serotonin levels back up to where they were, prior to taking just one pill. If they were planning on letting them take E all the time that would be one thing. From personal experience, I believe it. This could shatter any semblance of normalcy these guys have left.

I heard about another case where they want to use ecstasy on a different group of people, and I think the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks. I saw a special on TV last year about a couple who used it for the last month or so of the husbands life, and they recorded their experience together. The wife seemed to be at peace with it, and it appeared as if it brought them closer together.

Harvard seeks to test ecstasy drug on the dying

By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff | February 23, 2005

BELMONT -- Harvard researchers are preparing for the first time in three decades to conduct human experiments using a psychedelic drug, a study that would seek to harness the mind-altering effects of the drug ecstasy to help ease the crushing psychic burdens faced by dying cancer patients.

In the experiment, 12 terminal cancer patients would be given MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, to determine whether the drug helps alleviate their anxiety. If the results are positive, the Harvard scientists said, they will push forward with large-scale tests that could make end-of-life ecstasy treatments generally available to terminally-ill patients.

The experiment seeks to establish a medical use for a drug whose abuse has been on the rise among some young people, who use it recreationally for its euphoric effects. A small but growing group of scientists contends the drug, administered in a controlled medical setting, can improve mental and emotional health. But critics, including some in the Bush administration, said the experiment may destigmatize a dangerous substance.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2005/02/23/harvard_seeks_to_test_ecstasy_drug_on_the_dying?mode=PF