MDMA

Gideon Lichfield: I'm sure it will be if it isn't already. No, totally, I think we're gonna get a hydroponic organic psilocybin encased in artisanal, ethically sourced chocolate harvested from the Western-facing slopes of some mountain in Nicaragua, and it's gonna be very expensive. And somebody with a very snooty head, who's gonna be standing there at the shop explaining to you which kind of psilocybin you should be using—I have no question any of this will happen. It's basically inevitability.Lauren Goode: OK, and then…

Two illicit substances best known for their ‘recreational’ use have been given the tick of approval by Australian authorities to be prescribed for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.Following the announcement in February, one that surprised many scientists, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) – the country’s FDA – has authorized the use of psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), which came into effect on July 1. However, access will be limited to those who meet…

It was in 1975, when Carl Resnikoff and his girlfriend, Judith Gipson, took a bucolic ferry ride to Sausalito, a city located on the north end of Golden Gate Bridge, that a revolution in youth culture, music, emotion and imagination would take place. It was on that ride that the two undergraduates took capsules filled with MDMA powder for the very first time. Resnikoff, a biophysics major at Berkeley, had synthesized the drug himself. As the boat cut through the water of the San Francisco Bay, Gipson began to feel “a…

SUBSCRIBE: Apple | Spotify Tanya Lewis: Hi, and welcome to Your Health, Quickly, a Scientific American podcast series! Josh Fischman: On this show, we highlight the latest vital health news, discoveries that affect your body and your mind.   Every episode, we dive into one topic. We discuss diseases, treatments, and some controversies.  Lewis: And we demystify the medical research in ways you can use to stay healthy.  I’m Tanya Lewis. Fischman: I’m Josh Fischman. Lewis: We’re Scientific American’s senior health…

Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the most common mental health conditions in the world, with an estimated six out of every 100 people in the United States alone experiencing PTSD at some point in their lives — a figure that doesn’t account for people who live with complex trauma.Yet despite its pervasiveness, available treatments for PTSD don’t work for at least a third of people with the condition. There are no pharmaceutical drugs approved for treating the particularities of PTSD, only the depression and anxiety…

In a world-first, Australia has announced it will officially recognize MDMA and psilocybin as medicines. On February 3, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)—the government authority responsible for regulating medicines—announced that starting July 1, 2023, authorized psychiatrists will be able to prescribe MDMA for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, for ​​treatment-resistant depression. Because the TGA has yet to approve any…

Graphic: Jody Serrano / GizmodoAs someone who is officially turning 30 this year, I have long ago come to terms with the fact that I am an Old. Should you need proof, I had to ask the youth in our Gizmodo Slack what BDE, or “Big Dick Energy,” was this week as I wasn’t sure if it was literal, figurative, and available for use by all. That being said, you can imagine my face of utter confusion when I came across the Drug Enforcement Administration’s “emoji drug code” on Twitter earlier this week. According to the DEA, teens…

Outside the MDMA shop in Utrecht. Credit: Utrecht University Imagine this: the Dutch government regulates MDMA. What would sales then look like? Should you be able to buy pills everywhere, or only on prescription? In the MDMA store, a public experiment by drug museum Poppi in collaboration with Utrecht University researchers, the visitors are the ones who decide.…