During a press conference on Capitol Hill July 10, Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer urged the Food and Drug Administration to approve therapy with the psychedelic drug MDMA, also known as Molly and Ecstasy, for PTSD. (Photo courtesy of Denise Gitsham) Lawmakers and advocates have launched a full-court press for federal approval of the psychedelic drug MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder after an advisory panel recommended against the therapy last month.
Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., a retired Marine lieutenant general; Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, a former Navy SEAL ; Army veteran Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.; and Rep. Lou Correa, another California Democrat, came together Wednesday to support the medication ahead of the Food and Drug Administration’s decision, expected by Aug. 11.
"Yes, I have done this, and yes I support this 100% and always will," Luttrell said during a news conference Wednesday on Capitol Hill. "If the FDA comes back with a result that we don’t care for, we will continue to do the research, we will continue to come forward every single day, because the service members deserve it, the veterans deserve it, the families deserve it."
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Researchers published results of clinical trials last year that indicated 87% of patients had significant improvement in their PTSD systems four months after receiving the treatment, which combines doses of MDMA with psychotherapy by a trained provider.
According to the study , 71% no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD at the end of the study.
But members of an FDA advisory panel that was considering the treament’s safety and efficacy found fault with the research, saying the way it was conducted could inflate results. Panel members also believed that, since some of the participants had used MDMA previously, they would be biased and report favorable results.
"It seems like there are so many problems with the data — each one alone might be OK, but when you pile them on top of each other … there’s just a lot of questions I would have about how […]
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