MDMA could be made available in US hospitals as soon as 2024, according to new research.
It comes after a medical trial found that the drug was an effective treatment for those with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In the trials, conducted by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Public Benefit Corporation, an organisation raising awareness of psychedelics, 90 patients with severe PTSD were given either a placebo or 80mg or 120mg doses of MDMA, similar amounts to the dosage found in a typical ecstasy pill, according to the Mail Online.
During the trials, patients wore eye masks and were given headphones, which played music while they sat with researchers to see how they reacted, before being given a smaller booster dose of 40-60mg around two hours into the treatment.
They then undertook a 90-minute sessions with a therapist to talk about their experiences.
The results revealed 88 per cent of participants showed significant improvements in their symptoms after their third therapy session, with two thirds (67 per cent) seeing such progress that they no longer showed enough symptoms to be diagnosed as having PTSD.
A separate control group, who received counselling but no MDMA, also apparently found a third of patients were cured of their PTSD symptoms over the same period of time.
As a result, researchers will now begin the process for gaining drug approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which could come within the next 12 months.
If approved, it could see MDMA offered to some of 12 million American adults who suffer with post traumatic stress disorder by 2024.
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