Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, talks before the start of the House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Department of the Navy’s budget request for fiscal year 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, April 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Medically retired with post-traumatic stress disorder, Jonathan Lubecky, a Marine Corps and Army veteran, said the anti-depressants and other prescribed medication that he took for his illness did little to ease his nightmares, flashbacks and thoughts of suicide.
Lubecky, a former sergeant who served in Iraq, said the only treatment that addressed his PTSD — a psychological disorder caused by trauma — was a four-month protocol of the hallucinogenic drug MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, that he took in a clinical trial for the drug.
PTSD often afflicts military members and veterans who have been in combat and other life-threatening situations.
Lubecky, 47, shared his experience at a news conference Wednesday to call attention to veteran suicide and a decision by the Food and Drug Administration expected next month on whether to allow MDMA — a Schedule 1 drug — for clinical use in treating PTSD.
Veterans advocacy groups — including the nonprofits Healing Breakthrough and Heroic Hearts Project — along with several lawmakers who are veterans attended the two-hour outdoor news conference in the nation’s capital, which included a large display of 150,000 dog tags to represent the number of veterans who have died by suicide since 9/11.
“MDMA-assisted therapy saved my life. I wouldn’t be here today if I had not had it,” said Lubecky, who participated in clinical trials with Lykos Therapeutics, which is attempting to get FDA approval for the first-ever MDMA treatment.
Veterans with PTSD are at a higher risk for suicide than those without the diagnosis, according to research by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I’ve lost more brothers and sisters than I care to think about,” said Juliana Mercer, a Marine corps veteran who spoke at the news conference.
Today, she directs public policy at Healing Breakthrough, which supports adoption of MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of PTSD and traumatic brain injuries in veterans.Mercer, who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan during […]
Lawmakers, veterans urge FDA to approve ecstasy for treating PTSD in clinical settings
