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US could soon approve MDMA therapy

nature.com

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Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#81

Post by meepmorp »

thejackgoode wrote: post #7

Can someone share any relevant experience with this? Best would be if you did it properly under supervision of clinical professional, or if you are a professional here, by any chance. Doesn’t matter if it’s US or not.

Not MDMA, but LSD. For me, it was unreasonably effective, though some of that might be my quirks. I preferred to use it alone, would frequently do housework while on it, and talked out my problems with myself. It was easier to be kind to myself, and to treat my emotions and thoughts with a degree of distance which was incredibly helpful.

FWIW, I haven't hade the same effect from other psychedelics.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#82

Post by fasterik »

themitigating wrote: post #66
fasterik wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see a few issues with your argument. Just because something has underlying social factors doesn't mean that it shouldn't also be treated with drugs and therapy. The latest wave of psychedelic research is not simply pushing a prescription drug; all of the research on MDMA, psilocybin, etc. is finding that these drugs work within a clinical setting paired with therapy. Also, I wasn't able to find a source saying that…

I think his argument is that the US should focus on trying to solve the underlying issues, either first or at least concurrently

PTSD can be caused by literally any traumatic, life-threatening situation. How is the US supposed to "solve" that?

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#83

Post by photochemsyn »

I'd imagine pharmaceutical interests in the USA in the mental illness treatment & maintenance field are depressed by this news - it's going to crush their profit model if successful:

> "And it’s unclear whether approving MDMA on the basis of MAPS’s data would ease the way for other companies hoping to study and develop the drug, or whether anyone would even want to. MDMA has been around since 1912 and cannot be patented, creating little financial incentive."

Not only that, but if people can improve their condition with three treatments to the point that they no longer need their daily dose of anti-depressant or ADHD medication (or alcohol / opiates / etc. for the self-medicating cohort) then overall drug consumption will drop steeply. This is probably good for social progress but poor for profit margins and ROI in the drug sector.

The pharmaceutical industry makes a lot more money by selling maintenance programs in than it does by selling cures. For example:

> "“Is curing patients a sustainable business model?” Goldman Sachs analysts ask?"

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/04/curing-disease-n...

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#84

Post by 52-6F-62 »

toomanyrichies wrote: post #41
52-6F-62 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My partners mother was depressed and shut in for years. She had been through every process, medical and otherwise, to try and find an escape hatch, window, anything. She eventually was accepted into a limited program in Victoria, BC for ketamine treatments. 3 large doses rendering intense trips that lasted the course of hours in a clinic under the supervision of doctors and therapists. After the first session she was…

What a great outcome. Glad to hear this and thanks for posting.

Happy to share.

I’ve come to think it’s very important that we re-integrate these plants/practices/visions/what have you into society and we stand to benefit from a deeper level down than just salving creature comforts. Some people never forgot that matter and I’m sure are relieved to see some more “rational” people like myself coming around!

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#85

Post by nkozyra »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #69
nkozyra wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why is it unsolvable? Because as we solve societal problems new ones will arise. There's no utopian ideal. > As the parent comment noted, these issue dont They don't what?

So we are content and complicit and stick with the status quo? That mindset itself is a problem. A problem that would still have us living in caves.

> So we are content and complicit and stick with the status quo?

Why can't we be content but not "complicit" and still address issues? I'd argue having a growing population with mental health issues is less prepared to functionally address larger problems.

This feels like it's piggy backing off of a caricature of a zoned out druggie who doesn't care what's happening around them.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#86

Post by eimrine »

hammyhavoc wrote: post #45
eimrine wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how to use mdma in medical way? does it requires obeying to some owner of some kind of medical license?

Medicinally, ergo, if someone has depression, they can use it to overcome it (apparently). Recreationally means that you don't have a medical issue that you are trying to solve and are taking it just to take it.

Thank you for definition. The thing is that I might have a depression and an understanding of what to do with mdma but a lack of trust to every psych* specialist because they are educated by govt who just wants some obey from everybody.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#87

Post by starkd »

cpncrunch wrote: post #15

“blinding was not formally assessed during the study”

I did not notice that. So, then it really doesn't tell us anything new.

The article gives away the game here:

>> But Doblin still envisions treatment centres sprouting up around the world — he predicts that more than 6,000 will emerge in the United States alone — where people with PTSD and other psychiatric illnesses can safely and legally use MDMA and other psychedelics under the guidance of therapists. Beyond this, he hopes ultimately for full legalization that would allow anyone to take the drugs however they wish. “MAPS has been the beacon to kind of take on this work,” says neuroscientist Amy Kruse, who is chief investment officer at venture capital firm Satori Neuro and is based in Annapolis, Maryland. “There are many people that can benefit from this treatment, and I think it shows a pathway for the potential rescheduling of other molecules.”

They are breathless in anticipation of a billion dollar industry. They even include this link:

https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2022-07-18/psychede...

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#88

Post by nkozyra »

themitigating wrote: post #71
nkozyra wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why is it unsolvable? Because as we solve societal problems new ones will arise. There's no utopian ideal. > As the parent comment noted, these issue dont They don't what?

Perfection isn't required and as others have noted there are countries with far less problems so obviously it is possible

> Perfection isn't required and as others have noted there are countries with far less problems so obviously it is possible

Never said it was impossible to improve. I said it was impossible to "fix" society.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#90

Post by publichealthrow »

HopenHeyHi wrote: post #2

[flagged]

> We just need a Timothy Leary type professor to kick off this decade into what is clearly set to be a repeat of the 1960s.

I registered an account for the day via Tor, I encourage others to do so while that's possible. (In a non-abusive way.)

American Millennial here. Sorry... United States resident. Gotta be mindful 'America' has many countries...

We don't need some professor handing out acid tabs, we need professors who avoid politics entirely but strongly encourage their students to vote, then educate them such that we repeal the bullshit drug laws Nixon passed back during Vietnam as a way to coerce those who wouldn't fight in that travesty.

To be fair, I've actually not tried LSD, the one time I was offered it was the night before I presented at a workshop. (I mistrusted the person, since when I said "Uh, I read on Erowid it lasts for about 8 hours and makes you stay up, maybe tonight's a bad night" they got aggrieved... every other time I just said "hey, I've never tried it before I'm gonna stick to beer but let me know if you need help finding your way out of this techno bunker" and it was very live and let live.)

What we NEED is a relaxation around cannabis. It doesn't... permeate... in the same way tobacco smoke does, it doesn't last as long as psychadelics, and a bad "trip" isn't as intense.

Ever since Google was founded I've seen people be weird about drug use in hiring and firing, paired with the alternate path of "serving your country" in order to trade salary for security.

Why should I go work for the FBI or NSA for a couple years, ignore illegal activity, then quit in a huff having been put through an expensive program, in terms of time and the sense that you are taking a slot away from others who could do useful work if they put them on CSAM instead of drug shit?

For those of us who have a very specific set of skills, the phreaks and weirdos, it's wintry economic climate out there if you don't want to kill brown people with robots, but do want to protect the homeland, because time and time again the folks who claim to want to protect us try to coerce us into weakening the internet, especially if you didn't go to an "elite" school.

A concept that's interesting in our world since for example, Harvard's kinda down there in the ranking for CS. (The times folks refuse to listen to 'the data" are often the biggest tells.)

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