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MDMA was hyped as a promising treatment for PTSD – what went wrong?

For years, it seemed MDMA-assisted therapy would revolutionise PTSD treatment. But poor trial design and alleged misconduct ultimately stopped the treatment from receiving government approval

By Grace Wade

4 October 2024

MDMA has long been used recreationally but it has faced obstacles getting approved for medical therapies

Shutterstock / Couperfield

“The future is psychedelic,” declared Rick Doblin, founder of Lykos Therapeutics, at a conference on psychedelic drugs last year. Several studies, many of them funded by Lykos, had provided tantalising signs that pairing MDMA with talk therapy could dramatically reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As a result, Doblin was one of many advocates touting the drug as key to revolutionising mental healthcare.

But just a year later,…

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