MDMA is better known as the party psychedelic Ecstasy or Molly. Used clinically, together with psychotherapy, it reduces symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and shows promise with couples.
Most drug use among Australian festival goers appears to be occasional and isn’t problematic. But a small group experience higher rates of drug-related harms.
Australia is about to start its first trial of psychedelic drugs for the treatment of anxiety and depression. If the results are positive, this could transform the way we treat mental illness.
Many brides are ecstatic when they marry, but few use the drug ecstasy on the big day. Kim Kardashian West recently divulged that she did. A drug expert explains the big risks of the party drug.
To know the real promise of psychedelic substances like LSD, mushrooms and MDMA, researchers must embrace the principles and practise of ‘open science.’
We’ve got better at managing the health risks of traditional drugs of abuse, but novel psychoactive substances, or ‘legal highs’, are a dangerous unknown.
Once associated with mind-control experiments and counter-cultural defiance, psychedelics now show great promise for mental health treatments and may prompt a re-evaluation of the scientific method.