Post-traumatic stress disorder in the U.S. has reached crisis levels. About 8 percent of Americans experience PTSD; for veterans, that number is 30 percent. Treatment is notoriously difficult, but people could find relief in an unusual form: psychedelic drugs. MDMA-found in molly and ecstasy-earned a bad rap in the 1990s as ravers' drug of choice. But psychotherapists are coming to value the way it increases empathy while decreasing fear and defensiveness. "MDMA gives people the ability to revisit an event that's still painful without being overwhelmed," says psychiatrist Michael Mithoefer. Following a recent MDMA trial, 83 percent of his treatment-resistant participants no longer showed symptoms of PTSD.
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