Apparently there is a new swing underway to do medical and psychological experiments with hallucinogenic and other illegal “street” drugs. Check out this article from the Guardian (via Taipei Times) about how a study is about to begin in South Carolina involving ecstasy and combat trauma. Soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are being recruited from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to take part in the experiment.

Scientists behind the trial in South Carolina think the feelings of emotional closeness reported by those taking the drug could help the soldiers talk about their experiences to therapists.

… Michael Mithoefer, the psychiatrist leading the trial, said: “It’s looking very promising. It’s too early to draw any conclusions but in these treatment-resistant people so far the results are encouraging.”

“People are able to connect more deeply on an emotional level with the fact they are safe now.”

… Mithoefer said the MDMA helped people discuss traumatic situations without triggering anxiety.

“It appears to act as a catalyst to help people move through whatever’s been blocking their success in therapy.”

These kinds of experiments have got to be very strange. The sessions are supposed to last up to eight hours, and they claim to play music during it. I wonder if they play “Yanni Live at the Acropolis” or “John Tesh at Red Rocks.” It’s probably something ridiculous. Anyway, it’s cool that establishment people are opening back up to the idea that drugs can actually help people, although I’m sure the research will ultimately just result in newer and better ways for the pharmaceutical industry to control people.

Here’s a couple more quotes on other studies being done. I’ll have to see if I can find more info:

Several victims of rape and sexual abuse with post-traumatic stress disorder, for whom existing treatments are ineffective, have been given MDMA since the research began last year.

… Several studies in the US are planned or are under way to investigate whether MDMA, LSD and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, can treat conditions ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder to anxiety in terminal cancer patients.