MDMA and other psychedelics are often associated with flower power, the '60s and Woodstock, but proposed research suggests it could make the final weeks and months much easier for terminally ill cancer patients.
A new collaborative trial from Otago University, University of Auckland, Mana Health and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) hopes to tap into the psychological benefits of MDMA for those who need it most.
Otago University's psychological medicine chair, Professor Paul Glue, joined Breakfast from Dunedin this morning to discuss the trial, as well and observed historical benefits in the use of psychedelics.
He noted that research into psychedelics had been stunted for decades following strong anti-drug policies stemming from the US.
"In the '60s and '70s there was a huge amount of work with LSD, with MDMA and a range of different disorders [like] depression, marital problems, alcohol addiction, and then with the war on drugs – all of it got killed," he said.
"Ten years ago it got resurrected again, and the idea that psychedelics could help people with depression associated with, say, end of life cancer has been well researched... but there's much less work with MDMA."
The Effect of MDMA-Assisted Therapy on Mood and Anxiety in Advanced-stage Cancer Study, or EMMAC Study, hopes to build on research seen overseas that has found positive links between mental health recovery and a combined use of psychedelic drugs and psychotherapy.
Glue highlighted the "massive amount of work" MAPS had done in the last 15 to 20 years to study the use of MDMA in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the benefits seen in what is currently not a commonplace method in Aotearoa.
"We have literally thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of people, who have been, say, sexually assaulted who are getting sensitive claims counselling in New Zealand... [with] the data that MAPS are producing with MDMA and PTSD, around 70% of people get well," he said.
"The idea [of the EMMAC Study] is to compare the effects MDMA plus psychotherapy against a control substance, [in this case] Ritalin plus psychotherapy.
"What we're anticipating is we will see around two-thirds, three-quarters of people getting MDMA plus therapy reporting a lasting improvement in anxiety and depression compared with people who get Ritalin plus therapy."
Eligible patients interested in being referred for the study can visit the EMMAC Study website for more information.
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