On the green grass in front of the U.S. Capitol, veteran advocates gathered Wednesday around a memorial created from 150,000 sets of dog tags. The symbolism, they say, is for 150,000 military veterans who have died by suicide since 9/11, a crisis that many believe could be eased in some measure by MDMA-assisted therapy.
A crowd of veteran advocates, health professionals and members of Congress gathered at the capital around the memorial to call for loosening of rules on MDMA, which faces a critical decision within the Food and Drug Administration in August. Jesse Gould, a former Army Ranger, said MDMA had been a life-saving alternative therapy for him and led him to start the Heroic Hearts Project . His group was among the groups that helped create the memorial and bring it to Washington D.C.
“Enough is enough. We have witnessed firsthand the treatment’s transformative power,” said Gould. “This nation’s heroes deserve healing and the opportunity to reclaim their futures. The FDA alone has the power to granting veterans access to this MDMA therapy. Approving this treatment is not just a formality. It is a lifeline for the nation’s veterans.”
MDMA is a psychoactive drug and makes up the active ingredient in illegal drugs like ecstasy (though law enforcement often finds that ‘street-level’ ecstasy is a mix of other illegal drugs ). However, when used in controlled therapy settings, many trauma specialists and a wide community of veterans believe MDMA can alleviate mental conditions that often afflict veterans, like PTSD and depression.
Among the messages the Capitol rally embraced was for the FDA to “Follow the science.”
That path has been a rocky one for MDMA. In June, an FDA advisory committee voted overwhelmingly not to endorse loosening rules on MDMA, based on safety concerns in previous studies. That ruling reversed several years of positive signs, beginning in 2017 when the FDA designated MDMA-AT as a “Breakthrough Therapy,” an administrative label that fast-tracked clinical trials. Subsequent trials found that over 71% of participants no longer met PTSD criteria after three MDMA-AT sessions, while 86% showed significant improvement.
However, the committee that voted in June […]
Memorial made from dog tags comes to Capitol to urge Congress on MDMA therapies
