"For Jon Lubecky the scars on his wrists are a reminder of the years he spent in mental purgatory.  He returned from an Army deployment in Iraq a broken man. He heard mortar shells and helicopters where there were none. He couldnt sleep and drank until he passed out. He got every treatment offered by Veterans Affairs for posttraumatic stress disorder. But they didnt stop him from trying to kill himself  five times. Finally he signed up for an experimental therapy and was given a little green capsule. The anguish stopped. Inside that pill was the compound MDMA better known by dealers and partygoers as ecstasy. That street drug is emerging as the most promising tool in years for the militarys escalating PTSD epidemic. The MDMA program was created by a small group of psychedelic researchers who had toiled for years in the face of ridicule funding shortages and skepticism. But the results have been so positive that this month the Food and Drug Administration deemed it a breakthrough therapy https  setting it on a fast track for review and potential approval. The prospect of a governmentsanctioned psychedelic drug has generated both excitement and concern. And it has opened the door to scientists studying new uses  https_term.cceacabfor other illegal psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin commonly known as magic mushrooms. Were in this odd situation where one of the most promising therapies also happens to be a Schedule  substance banned by the Drug Enforcement Administration said retired Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton who until  was the highestranking psychiatrist in the U.S. Army.  Because of the stigma attached to psychedelics since the trippy s many military and government leaders still hesitate to embrace them. Some scientists are also wary of the nonprofit spearheading ecstasy therapy a group with the stated goal of making the banned drugs part of mainstream culture. But the scope and severity of PTSD makes it all irrelevant said Sutton who now works as New York Citys commissioner of veteran services. If this is something that could really save lives we need to run and not walk toward it. We need to follow the data. PTSD has been a problem for the military for decades but Americas recent wars have pushed it to epidemiclevel heights. Experts estimate  https between  and  percent of soldiers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from PTSD.  The affliction is typically triggered  https experiencing or witnessing violence including assault and abuse. It has ravaged lives and broken up marriages. It often leaves its victims in sudden panic and prevents them from dealing with the original trauma. And that last symptom is what makes PTSD particularly hard to overcome with traditional talk therapy. Because patients cant talk about and process the trauma experts say it lingers like a poison in their mind. Only two drugs are approved for treating PTSD Zoloft and Paxil. Both have proved largely ineffective when it comes to veterans whose cases are especially difficult to resolve because of their prolonged or repeated exposure to combat.  If youre a combat veteran with multiple tours of duty the chance of a good response to these drugs is  in  maybe lower said John Krystal chairman of psychiatry at Yale University and a director at the VAs National Center for PTSD. Thats why theres so much frustration and interest in finding something that works better. Ecstasy has long been a favorite at trance parties and raves because of its unique ability to flood users with intense feelings  http euphoria. But as a byproduct it also reduces fear and imbues users with a deep sense of love and acceptance of themselves and others  the perfect conditions for trauma therapy. By giving doses of MDMA at the beginning of three eighthour therapy sessions researchers say they have helped chronic PTSD patients process and move past their traumas.  In clinical trials with  patients closely monitored by the FDA  percent reported major reductions in symptoms  to the point where they no longer fit the criteria for PTSD. Followup studies a year later found  percent no longer had PTSD. If you were to design the perfect drug to treat PTSD MDMA would be it said Rick Doblin who three decades ago founded the California nonprofit behind the clinical trials. It is no accident that the group  the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies http MAPS  chose PTSD as its argument for ending the governments ban on psychedelics. We wanted to help a population that would automatically win public sympathy he said. No ones going to argue against the need to help them. Doblin now  talks openly about his own history with drugs. He began tripping on LSD as a rebellious longhaired college freshman in the s. He says it helped him see the world and himself in new ways. He wanted to become a therapist and use psychedelics to help others achieve similar insights but he couldnt because LSD was already banned.  The flaw of the early psychedelic movement was that they made it countercultural a revolution he said. Culture is dominant. Culture is always going to win. For a decade he worked in construction until he came across MDMA for the first time. When the DEA moved to criminalize it in  Doblin created MAPS and sued the agency. The lawsuit failed and Doblin realized that psychedelics were perceived as too fringe to win public support.  To succeed he decided both he and the issue had to go mainstream. Doblin talked his way into the public policy PhD program at Harvard University and learned to navigate the federal bureaucracy. He shaved off his mustache cut his shaggy hair and learned to dress up. I used to laugh about how simple it was he said. You put on a suit and suddenly everyone thinks youre fine. The external switch reflected an internal one as well. Instead of fighting government officials he began plotting to win them over especially those at the FDA.  And the key he realized was science. Before the FDA would even talk about clinical trials for MDMA the agency needed proof it wasnt dangerous. Previous studies suggesting its neurotoxicity had been limited to rats. So in  Doblin scraped together money to buy monkeys for those same researchers who found the risks to be much less at humanequivalent doses than previously thought. The next step was investigating MDMAs effects on people. Doblin again raised money to fly psychedelic users he had befriended to Stanford University and Johns Hopkins University for spinal taps. The studies were approved by review boards at both institutions. Doblin also participated undergoing two spinal taps.  In the two decades that followed Doblin and MAPS inched toward progress.  The nonprofit grew from a oneman band to a staff of  with headquarters in Santa Cruz. It tapped into the scene in Silicon Valley  where many tech entrepreneurs have used psychedelics to spark creativity. Steve Jobs famously praised LSD as one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life.  MAPS received a . million bequest from the founder of a software company. The hipster soap company Dr. Bronners pledged  million. A professional poker player who attributed his wins to microdosing on LSD gave . Recently an anonymous  bitcoin donation came in.  Much of that money funded smallscale clinical trials which laid the groundwork for the last remaining hurdle Largescale phase  trials that will begin next year involving  to  patients in  locations. If those future trials yield similar results the FDA could approve the MDMA treatment for PTSD as soon as  according to Doblin.  Yet his dream extends beyond that. He envisions a future where psychedelic treatment centers are in every city  places people can visit for enhanced couples therapy spiritual experiences and personal growth. He believes psychedelics can help address the countrys biggest problems including homelessness war and global warming. These drugs are a tool that can make people more compassionate tolerant more connected with other humans and the planet itself he said.  That kind of talk makes many in the medical community nervous. Its hard to measure the exact dangers of ecstasy. Because it is not used as widely as marijuana or cocaine for example fewer statistics are available on overdoses or injuries. In  a public health monitoring system  https  emergency department visits nationwide related to ecstasy.  MDMA researchers point out that one key difference between MDMA and street ecstasy along with another variant called molly is the street versions often contain other harmful drugs experts say. Sometimes the pills dont even contain MDMA.  But even in its purest clinical form MDMA can pose risks https_data_sheetsEcstacy.pdf. At high doses it can cause the body to overheat. It can cause anxiety and increase the stress hormone cortisol. Chronic use can also cause memory impairment. I think its a dangerous substance said Andrew Parrott a psychology professor at Swansea University in Wales who spent years researching the drugs harmful effects. He worries that FDA approval for the treatment of PTSD could lead many in the public to believe ecstasy is safe for recreational use. Other experts however have become increasingly intrigued by its promising results. Anytime you have an organization that is advocating for drugs that are illegal it marginalizes them in the research field. MAPS still isnt seen as mainstream. But its possible they have a point here said Krystal the Yale psychiatrist who has not been involved with the groups research. I cant think of a single medication that doesnt carry some side effect. The question here is whether the benefits outweigh the risk. For Lubecky the drug cant be approved fast enough.  The Marine Corps and Army veteran recalls coming home from Iraq in  to discover his wife had left him sold his motorcycle and taken his dog. That coupled with the trauma of what he had seen at war sent him over the edge.  On Christmas Eve he put the muzzle of his Beretta to his temple and pulled the trigger. The gun malfunctioned he said but that microsecond after the hammer fell is when I finally felt at peace because I knew the pain would finally be over. One incident in Iraq in particular tormented him  a shot he took while protecting his unit. It was a situation where the right thing to do was the immoral thing he said declining to describe it in detail. Youre looking through a scope at another human being and you do one thing and suddenly they dont exist anymore. For years he told no one about it. He would panic even thinking about it.  After he was accepted into the MDMA clinical trial in South Carolina he found himself on a futon with two counselors on either side as the effects of the drug sank in. I was in such a comfortable place recalled Lubecky  who now works in Charleston as a political consultant. I didnt even realize I was finally talking about it admitting it for the first time to anybody. Since then he said he has learned to accept what happened in Iraq. And the guilt he now struggles with is the fact he got chosen over others for the clinical trial. I was the th veteran chosen for a person study he said. I have friends who are suffering every day like I was. But they cant do it because its illegal. This could save their lives."