DEA Approves Study Of Psychedelic Drug MDMA In Treatment Of Seriously Ill Patients

The Drug Enforcement Administration last week gave a green light to a clinical study that will test the safety and efficacy of MDMA for use in treating anxiety in people with life-threatening illnesses. The move suggests the DEA may be questioning its long-held position that the psychedelic compound, which can be a component in street drugs like Molly or Ecstasy, has no accepted medical use.

At the height of the drug war in 1985, the agency classified MDMA in Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act. The federal government considers Schedule I drugs to be among the “most dangerous,” with no known medical benefits and the potential for “severe psychological or physical dependence.” That decision overruled a previous recommendation by the DEA's chief administrative law judge that the drug be placed in Schedule III, which would have allowed doctors to continue using it in therapy.