Ecstasy to help mental illness

[mellowyellow]

Consultant psychiatrist Eli Kotler

Dr Eli Kotler, a Melbourne doctor who is fighting for permission to treat a severely unwell patient with the drug MDMA has taken his battle to court, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in Australia.

Dr Kotler launched legal action after the Victorian Department of Health knocked back an application to treat the woman, who cannot be named, with the drug more commonly known as ecstasy. Dr Kotler challenged that decision in the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court, which adjourned the hearing until early next year ahead of an appeal.

Greg Barns SC, who is representing Dr Kotler, told Magistrate Luisa Bazzani that his team would be calling two expert witnesses from California and the United Kingdom to make their case. "The patient is quite unwell and has a range of mental health issues where it's believed that MDMA would be safe and efficacious to use therapeutically," Mr Barns said………….

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-12/doctor-mdma-ecstasy-treatment-patient-court-bid/100614346

 

[Devi]

Oy. The "patient" is already having problems. What could go wrong?

 

[AnnieA]

Research is promising for PTSD, but there's a lot still to learn. Apparently, MDMA facilitates PTSD psychotherapy but must be closely supervised and guided. It appears to work by allowing the sufferer to access buried emotions during the 'high', but opening the floodgates and coming down from that high is dangerous emotionally--that's where close supervision comes into the picture. It's not as simple as giving someone a prescription and sending them on their way. My bet is that it'll eventually be approved for inpatient settings.

 

[Bellbird]

I wonder if the patient is unwell through taking ecstasy in the first place.

 

[oldpop]

Good or bad there seems to be a phobia against psychoactive drugs. Some have been used for thousands of years. If the side effects are manageable and the drug works it should be offered. JMHO