From Party Pill to Healing Agent

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MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy or molly, is being considered by the FDA as a potential therapeutic drug, signaling a significant shift in its perception. Originally recognized in the 1970s for its introspective qualities, MDMA became associated with party culture before being reevaluated for its potential in treating severe PTSD cases. This evolution highlights the drug's complex history and its journey from a recreational substance to a candidate for medical intervention in mental health crises.

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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