Live data from Hacker News

US could soon approve MDMA therapy

nature.com

221–230 of 406 posts

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Way more people are run down by cars while crossing the street, but the media has decided to get hysterical over a blue moon.

Top two causes of under-18 death in the US are guns and cars.

Those stats call “children” 19 years old and younger.

So all those 18 and 19 year old “children” gang bangers are included in the statistic.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#222
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By fixing the underlying conditions that lead to the behaviour classified as ADHD rather than depending on stimulants as a(n admittedly very effective) crutch to power through them.

From what I understand, ADHD is typically thought to be the result of an inefficient (outside of an accepted typical range) reward/reinforcement system in the brain - whether due to not producing enough of the relevant neurotransmitters, or not being "sensitive" enough to them (yes, this is oversimplified). How would MDMA (or any drug) alter this? Stimulants used to treat ADHD typically work by either getting you to…

This is exactly my understanding of it. I also have ADHD.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice to read your journey. Glad you found a way through. I had a similar experience to the first half of your story. Was so unfulfilled in tech that I ended up quitting and took time off not working, trying lots of different things, getting very frustrated and depressed along the way. I did try LSD (ok, a lot of LSD) and instead of it helping me process/sort through/integrate some of my troubles it added new ones and…

I wish more people spoke about their negative experiences with psychedelics. It's a sobering and necessary counterpoint to most of what floods these threads of how it changed someone's life, but the "how" is largely ambiguous.

As studies continue, it seems that a key component is a safe and therapeutic environment and a trained guide who can help the person navigate what they experience. People most often get in trouble when they bring a recreational drug mindset, or are predisposed to certain conditions, or have not worked with a therapist to have foundational tools to manage the experience.

The risks are absolutely real and should not be taken lightly, but there’s a huge difference between going on a personal journey of experimentation without the tools to navigate that journey, and going through a careful screening process with counseling during and after each trip.

Michael Pollan’s work (book and documentary) explores this somewhat. I don’t think most people would describe the experience as ambiguous. That is not to say that the experience can be sufficiently described with language.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#224
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, antidepressants are way more complicated, they have more side effects, and have to be monitored carefully to not make the underlying issues that caused the patient to take them worse. Suicidal thoughts plus antidepressants that give you energy can give you the motivation to go through it. And despite not being categorized as addictive you can't stop taking them without wrecking your mental health until your bod…

> While at the same time despite being a controlled substance because they're supposedly so addictive people with ADHD forget to take adderall and with normal use you don't take it every day. This is incorrect: Normal use of stimulant medication is to take it regularly every day. We also have evidence from studies showing that the brain adapts to consistent dosing in order to counter some of the damaging oxidative ef…

Stopping antidepressants without tapering can be deadly too. Serotonin syndrome is a real issue.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#225

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 paten…

I don't think it's going to replace ADHD medication whatsoever. How would that even work?

MDMA is an amphetamine, like many ADHD medication, so it is not that much of a stretch to think that it can work.

And to answer the "but you can't patent an old molecule", in fact, yes you can. Adderall is plain old amphetamine, but with a specific ratio of the D and L type, so it could be patented. The pharmaceutical industry is adept at making small tweaks to existing drugs, a supposed improvement according to their own studies, but most importantly, a way to get a patent.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#226
post #164

Or just do drugs by yourself or with friends and not around some stranger who guides you to state approved answers. Also do mushrooms, not this shit. Only reason they're pushing this brain-melting stuff is because they can make a buck. 'actually drugs are good now. Just give us your credit card and insurance info and step right this way'. Fuck off. Do drugs in the woods and sort your shit out like we've been doing fo…

I get what you're saying, and I've basically only done the "cowboy-style drop acid/MDMA/shrooms in random settings" and sorted my shit out that way (well, some of it, at least) myself, and honestly, it's worked out pretty well for me.

But I've also met a few folks that have been deeply traumatized by bad trips - one particularly painful example is someone who saw a friend he loved fall to her death whilst tripping on shrooms.

Responsible tripping is important. There's a reason trip-sitters, good setting, etc are generally recommended.

and the last bit 'get out of here nerd' was really uncalled for. You make yourself look... ungentlemanly at best. I'd go as far as saying you just made yourself seem like an absolute twat, but I'm sure you're a kind person deep down and maybe you're just upset by 'the man' co-opting your edgy lifestyle choices like a hipster upset by his/her favorite band becoming popular and this is how you express that :3

If this helps people heal their trauma and have nicer lives, I think we should support, not everyone can be cool kids with easy access to drugs like us ;)

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because all laws and bans are tradeoffs. By banning something that doesn't have a significant effect you might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. How many lives are saved and traumas avoided through people's ability to defend themselves with guns? If that number is higher than the number of toddler accidents, gun ban would effectively cause an increase in PTSD and deaths. P.S.: just to clarify, by "signific…

That's a fair point. I took the premise to be that there was already a higher trauma rate in the US based on the fact that there is so apparently so much medication given out for trauma related issues compared to other countries. This had been suggested above but I didn't look into it further. > How many lives are saved and traumas avoided through people's ability to defend themselves with guns Self defence with guns…

I'm not a psychologist, but intuitively, most trauma seem to have an element of helplessness in them. Being able to defend yourself and your loved ones with guns would therefore cause less trauma than having to wait for police to come, or just being hurt/seeing a loved one hurt/murdered in front of you.

Still, we're stepping deep into the speculation area here, so I won't stand behind this argument very strongly.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do I protect my toddler from all the criminals who keep their guns? Call the police and wait 15 minutes?

If I was having my toddler threatened by criminals on a regular basis, I'd have to question my life choices.

None of the above "gun violence"/"senseless violence" things given as reasons for gun control happen to my family on a regular basis either. By your logic I should question the choice of gun control .

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#229
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, a MK Ultra reboot.

Pretty sure that is happening too. You might even be an unwitting participant right now. Bet Manson type murders will happen as well. Race riots. A Kennedy type young president will show up and get assassinated. There will be a new space race, this time with China. AI Beatles-type mega band will emerge. A crowdsourced Woodstock some place. Sit ins, sleep ins. People on TV growing out their hair. Time is a flat circle…

>A Kennedy type young president will show up and get assassinate

RFK Junior, whose father and uncle were killed by the CIA, is literally running for president! And running on an anti-establishment platform too; the CIA must be licking their lips at the chance to take out another Kennedy.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#230
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that designing the TV layout is not the point, the point is opening yourself to new ideas and empathy, facilitating compromise

This handwaves the problem that two adults cannot reach a compromise without taking a drug. That's a personal problem not being solved, but actually being masked and brushed under the metaphorical rug. Perhaps what they need is relationship counselling? If you anesthetize me, I will protest less when you do something that would otherwise cause me pain, but you haven't taken away my ability to feel pain in the long-te…

I disagree with the "masked" framing. _Actually talking to each other_ is fairly difficult for a lot of people and even a lot of relatively happy couples. Managing to do that in a productive fashion may take a very good night's sleep, or a lot of coffee, or a few beers, or some MDMA, or post-coital neurochemical rush, or whatever else. As long as it happens, you've had the conversation. If it went well and you got somewhere and did a thing or mutually understand a problem or whatever, it was a success.

Tools are tools. My inability to ram a nail into a wall with my thumb isn't being "masked" by my use of a hammer, and while I might get better at it with practice and better thumb technique that wouldn't be a more valid solution.

Post reply on HN