“The refusal to authorize MDMA as a medication has done a huge favor to ‘underground’ therapy”
2024 was expected to be the year of the consolidation of the “psychedelic renaissance.” However, the FDA, the drug regulatory agency in the US, has rejected the approval of MDMA as a treatment for post-traumatic stress. José Carlos Bouso, scientific director of ICEERS and speaker at Fuertedélica, analyzes in this interview the causes behind this…
The United States Rejects the Approval of Therapeutic MDMA Use
In a controversial decision, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided not to approve the therapeutic use of MDMA for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychiatric disorders. This decision represents a significant setback in the field of mental health, limiting the therapeutic options available to millions of people suffering…
From the Dance Floor to the Therapy Couch: A Brief History of MDMA
MDMA was first synthesized by Anton Köllisch at the pharmaceutical company Merck in Germany. The young German chemist developed 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine in his quest for an alternative chemical method to synthesize hydrastinine. The molecule was patented on December 24, 1912, but was never tested on humans. With the outbreak of World War I, Köllisch was recruited…
“New psychoactive substances are poor substitutes for classics like MDMA”
Fernando Caudevilla, also known as Doctor X, will be speaking at Fuertedélica, the Psychedelic Conference of Fuerteventura, about one of his favorite molecules, MDMA, a substance that is making its way back into psychologists’ offices after reigning on the dance floors for four decades. We talked with Doctor X about MDMA culture, new chemical drugs,…