The Evolving Landscape of MDMA Therapy

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This chapter examines the changing legal status and therapeutic potential of MDMA, highlighting its promise in treating PTSD through recent research. It reflects on the historical context of MDMA's use in therapy, from the 1970s to modern clinical trials, while discussing the challenges and hopes for its FDA approval. The chapter culminates in a discussion of the drug's dual nature in psychiatric practice, emphasizing both its healing capabilities and the risks associated with its misuse.

In 1980s Berkeley, an eccentric chemist and his wife, a self-taught therapist, experimented with MDMA. Their work would kickstart a decades-long campaign to mainstream psychedelics as a therapeutic tool — one that’s coming to a head this month, with a decision due from the FDA.

This episode was reported and produced by Haleema Shah, edited by Lissa Soep and Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir and Rob Byers, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. It’s the first in a series supported with a grant from the Ferriss–UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship.

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