Since the early '90s, as more and more youths have discovered ecstasy, government scientists have tried to speak with a clear voice that the drug carries life-threatening risks and no benefits. Now that voice has cracked.
The FDA has sanctioned a study of methylenedioxymethamphetamine, better known as MDMA, or ecstasy, as a possible treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Once it is approved by a review board at a research facility, the study will mark the first time in three decades that the government has allowed researchers to give a psychedelic drug to subjects who have never taken it, which suggests the...