I feel a bit sorry for ecstasy. Out of all the illicit drugs, I feel like ecstasy is the most misunderstood. Poor little ecstasy, it has so much promise but no one will give it the opportunity to reach its full potential. Let’s stop personifying ecstasy for a second, and I’ll explain. When many people think about ecstasy, the well publicised negative effects jump to mind.

Many people fear ecstasy after hearing stories of ruined lives and seeing scary anti-drug billboards at their local bus stop. But get this: British researchers created a list of the 20 most dangerous drugs, with alcohol coming in at number 5 and ecstasy further down the list at number 18! Surprising, I know. Especially since alcohol is a legal drug and ecstasy is highly illegal. I won’t deny that ecstasy, like alcohol, can be dangerous if used irresponsibly. However, I’m not going to argue that ecstasy is not ‘that’ bad; I’m going to focus the positive effects it can have.

Ecstasy boosts our serotonin levels, which are our ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters. So ecstasy makes us feel calm, euphoric and gives us the ability to express a variety of emotions and experiences in a calm and controlled way. This means that ecstasy is essentially a good way to break down emotional barriers and get people talking about feelings and experiences they wouldn’t normally be comfortable talking about…..Aha! Sounds like ecstasy could be a useful tool for therapy!

I’m not the first person to think of this however. A bunch of rogue psychotherapists beat me to it. Some adventurous American psychotherapists began using ecstasy for individuals with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the early 80’s, and have reported some very promising results. PTSD can be quite debilitating, to the degree that sufferers won’t leave their homes following a traumatic event, such as war or rape. PTSD is a notoriously difficult condition to treat, and it can be sometimes impossible.

Some psychotherapists and researchers claim that ecstasy may be the secret weapon to combat PTSD. Ecstasy gives PTSD sufferers an opportunity to talk openly about their traumatising experiences without the intense emotional pain and inhibition that prevents successful therapy under normal conditions.

Psychotherapists who have treated PTSD sufferers with ecstasy have found that just 12 one hour weekly therapy sessions under the influence of ecstasy can have long term positive effects! I’m sure this is very exciting news for people who are so traumatised they are currently unable to lead a normal life.

You might ask ‘well, if ecstasy is so good for treating PTSD, then why isn’t it being used everywhere, huh?’ The problem is, as you have probably guessed, that ecstasy is illegal. Currently, there hasn’t been enough research done looking at the effectiveness of ecstasy on PTSD because what kind of pharmaceutical company is going to fund research for a drug that can’t be sold anyway? That’s right, funding bodies are more concerned with money making than doing something for the good of man kind.

So here’s what I propose: make ecstasy legal! Not so that we can put on our phat pants and go crazy at the next rave, but legal at a prescription level so that we can explore the possibility that it has positive therapeutic effects. Think about this – ecstasy may actually be able to save lives. I can’t see the problem with legalising ecstasy for prescription purposes if it means some people have the chance to lead a better life, can you?

References:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/drugs/

http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/the-ecstasy-and-the-agony-1391?article_page=1

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6474053.stm