Altered States Will Doctors Soon Prescribe Ecstasy?
Aug 7, 2024
In this engaging conversation, Michael Pollan, a noted author renowned for his best-selling book on psychedelics, delves into the FDA's potential approval of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. He discusses MDMA's fascinating journey from its medical acceptance in the 50s to its controversial stigma in the 60s. The dialogue explores cultural considerations of psychedelics, the challenges of regulatory trials, and the evolving societal views on these substances. Pollan highlights how this decision could transform therapeutic practices and reshape public perception.
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Return Of Psychedelics To Medicine
- MDMA approval would mark the return of psychedelics to American medicine after decades of dormancy.
- Michael Pollan calls such an approval a watershed moment for psychedelic research and treatment.
MDMA's Unique Neurosocial Effects
- MDMA acts differently from classic psychedelics: it muffles the amygdala and releases oxytocin rather than producing hallucinations.
- Pollan highlights MDMA's emotional and social bonding effects as its defining therapeutic mechanism.
How MDMA Reentered Therapy
- Alexander Shulgin synthesized MDMA from Merck's old compound and shared it with his therapist wife, Ann, who recommended it for talk therapy.
- Therapists adopted it widely before it entered mainstream culture and became labeled "ecstasy."