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MDMA is known for its popularity on the rave scene and music festivals, but doctors are trying to determine if the powerful drug inducing empathy can treat alcohol addiction. In the current state of affairs, the preliminary results of the first study of this kind show promising results.
According to the Guardian, Bristol doctors are trying to determine if a few doses of MDMA, known as Molly, associated with psychotherapy, could help people overcome their alcohol dependence more effectively than traditional treatments. Only one patient who has completed the study trial has relapsed, which is above average for the treatment of alcoholism. In England, an average of eight out of ten relapse within three years of traditional treatment.
"We have a person who has completely relapsed, returning to previous consumption levels, we have five people who are completely dry, and we have four or five who have had one or two drinks without a diagnosis of a substance use disorder. d & # 39; alcohol. "Dr. Ben Sessa, an addiction psychiatrist and senior researcher at Imperial College London, who led the trial, told the Guardian. "With what medical science can do best, 80% of people drink within three years of alcohol detoxification."
Sessa said this may be partly due to MDMA's ability to alter the fear response in a patient. This is useful because it can allow a person to remember a childhood trauma without being too afraid to call back.
The next stage of the study will deepen research to demonstrate that MDMA, associated with psychotherapy, can be a resource for treating alcoholism. Using a randomized control group, some patients will receive a placebo instead of MDMA.
For the study at trial, patients underwent medical and psychological tests, followed by an eight-week psychotherapy course. In weeks three and six, they received MDMA at a hospital in the presence of a psychiatrist and a psychologist. These sessions last approximately eight hours and participants are usually in bed, wearing glasses and headphones.
"We let them lead the sessions to find out where they want to go. What will happen then is not very guided by the clinicians, "said Sessa.
After the session, patients stay overnight and call once a day for the next week to collect data on sleep, mood, and risk of suicide.
"There is no black Monday, no blue Tuesday or whatever the ravers call it. In my opinion, it's an artifact of delirium. It's not about MDMA, "said Sessa. "If people were abusing drugs for cancer chemotherapy, you would not think then:" Well, it's not safe to take cancer chemotherapy when doctors prescribe it. "
Sessa added, "Scientists know it's not dangerous. The Sun newspaper thinks it's dangerous, because the tiny number of deaths each year is front and center. "
MDMA recently performed a medical return. From 1977 to 1985, experimental therapists in the United States tested the drug during psychotherapy sessions. Books such as Michael Pollan's "How to Change Mind" have re-energized public interest in the creative and therapeutic benefits of psychedelics.
A series of research has been conducted to support the use of MDMA in therapeutic settings, particularly on the efficacy of treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For example, a study published in the British journal The Lancet Psychiatry in 2018 revealed that after two sessions of psychotherapy with MDMA, a majority of 26 veterans and first responders with chronic PTSD experienced their symptoms decrease.
Research on MDMA is often prohibitive, particularly in the United States, where medical research on MDMA is subject to legal limitations. MDMA has been a Schedule 1 drug since 1986 in the United States, although there has been a wave of interest in declassifying it for therapeutic purposes. Recently, non-profit groups such as the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) have lobbied to change their legal status.
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