Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Nov. 7, 2017, edition 1 / Page 11
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m 4^’ ‘•f: -s. # * ' M I MDMA is commonly labeled as molly or ecstasy and has garnered a reputation as being a club drug for decades. Scientific history behind MDMA reveals potential benefits MOLLY JABEN Contributor mjaben@unca.edu The experience starts the same for most people. The jaw begins to tighten, the stomach becomes jit tery, a wave of slight nausea hits, followed by intense, yet delightful, euphoria: all due to one of the fast est growing nightlife fads, MDMA. Most have heard rappers brag about “popping molly” or are fa miliar with the elusive but tanta lizing drug known as ecstasy. Yet, many people remain unaware the famous party drug has humble roots in psychiatry. As of August, the FDA granted MDMA-assisted psychotherapy as a breakthrough therapy designation for treatment aimed at reducing the agonizing effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the U.S. Depart ment of Veterans Affairs, about 7.5 percent of American adults suffer from the disorder. They also estimate 11-20 percent of Iraqi war veterans suffer from the disorder while 30 percent of Viet nam veterans experience persistent PTSD throughout their lifetimes. The Veterans Affairs hospital in Asheville knows this all too well. As one of the highest rated VA hospitals in the nation, they ser vice over 38,000 veterans from 20 counties around Western North Carolina, according to official gov ernment rankings. The annual budget briefing re ports the U.S. government granted the VA $7.4 billion worth of re sources for mental health treatment in 2016. The VA currently requests an additional one billion dollars to cover the mounting costs of treat ment throughout 2018. The budget also predicts an increase of almost 1 million veterans seeking health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2018. Typically, patients suffering from PTSD receive psychotherapy along with a prescribed SSRI or antide pressant, like Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac and Effexor according to treatment guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. However, even these therapies have relatively low success rates. According to data from the Multi disciplinary Association of Psyche delic Studies, more than 80 percent of patients still qualify for a PTSD diagnosis after traditional treat ment. German company E. Merck re ceived the patent for the drug MDMA in 1914 to aid in the devel opment of other therapeutic agents , according to a report by the United States Sentencing Commision. Alexander Shulgin, a medici nal biochemist hailed as the father of MDMA, introduced the drug to America after synthesizing the compound while working for Dow Chemical in the mid-’60s. In the ‘70s Shulgin introduced MDMA to his friend Leo Zeff, a psychologist who went on to pi oneer psychoactive drug assisted therapy. Zeff ingested the com pound, recognized its potential and began administering the drug to pa tients. “When it started getting really popular 1 actually went and talked with a bunch of therapists who used it in therapy and became convinced that they weren’t crazy, that this re ally was a drug that had a future for psychiatry,” said David Nichols, a CONTINUED ON PAGE 25
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