---
title: "MDMA Therapy Eliminated PTSD Symptoms In 76 Percent of Patients"
description: "A recent phase II clinical trial showed evidence that MDMA treatment, in addition to psychotherapy, might be able to help people with PTSD."
date: "2018-11-02"
modified: "2018-11-02"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/mdma-therapy-help-treat-ptsd"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "drugs"
  - "mdma"
  - "medicine"
  - "PTSD"
---

# MDMA Therapy Eliminated PTSD Symptoms In 76 Percent of Patients

![A recent phase II clinical trial showed evidence that MDMA treatment, in addition to psychotherapy, might be able to help people with PTSD.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/mdma-therapy-might-someday-help-treat-ptsd.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## Chill Pill

Some researchers are starting to believe MDMA, the party drug commonly known as "ecstasy" or "molly," could become a recognized treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the coming years.

Case in point: A small clinical trial [published last week](<http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0269881118806297>) in the *Journal of Psychopharmacology* found that therapeutic doses of MDMA, [in concert with psychotherapy](<https://futurism.com/category/health-medicine>), reduced the severity of most participants’ PTSD symptoms. And a year after the trial ended, 76 percent of participants no longer met the clinical criteria for a PTSD diagnosis.

## Expect Delays

The results, [as exciting as they seem on paper](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/the-field-of-psychedelic-medicine-is-in-the-midst-of-a-resurgence>), are only from a phase II trial — the second of three stages of safety and efficacy testing required before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will consider approving a new pharmaceutical.

Many phase II trials, this one included, gather very impressive-sounding results, but the road to FDA approval is littered with the corpses of early-stage research that never made it to the end. That said, phase III trials for treating PTSD with MDMA are underway.

## Solid Science

Aside from its small sample size of only 28 participants, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s [website for monitoring clinical research](<https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT01793610?term=MDMA&cond=Post+Traumatic+Stress+Disorder&phase=1&rank=7>) shows no methodological red flags.

Even so, MDMA is still [listed as a schedule one drug](<https://www.drugs.com/article/csa-schedule-1.html>), which means the government prevents it from being legally prescribed, believes it has a high risk of abuse, and won't recognize clinical uses. Though FDA approval would help change that, it means MDMA cannot legally be prescribed off-label in the meantime.

But if all goes well in follow-up research, it's conceivable that MDMA treatments could hit the market after phase III trials are completed, which is expected to happen within three years.

**READ MORE:** [MDMA therapy achieves astounding 76% success rate for treating PTSD](<https://newatlas.com/mdma-ptsd-successful-trial-results/57074/>) \[*New Atlas*\]

***More on PTSD treatment: [The FDA Has Labeled Ecstasy A “Breakthrough Therapy” for PTSD](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/the-fda-has-labeled-ecstasy-a-breakthrough-therapy-for-ptsd>)***

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)