Just a few days after Psychedelic Spotlight explored the complicated question of whether we’re being exposed to psychedelics more than ever before in the media, NBC’s Today show validated industry insiders’ view that yes, we most definitely are, by giving MDMA therapy for PTSD center stage.
“Wow,” marveled the Today team of anchors after watching Savannah Guthrie interview Iraq War veteran Jon Lubecky. He told the NBC anchor that he was once suicidal but no longer suffers from severe PTSD after participating in three, eight-hour MDMA-assisted therapy sessions guided by a team of professionals at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
“Every single day, no matter how good or how bad the day was, my brain was trying to figure out how to kill myself,” Lubecky told Guthrie. He said during the 2014 therapy sessions, “I was able to talk about things that I had never brought up to anyone.”
When asked if he still has any symptoms of PTSD, he answered, “No, not at all,” and that he feels “100%” healed.
His experience echoes that of others who participated in a groundbreaking MAPS clinical trial, which showed that MDMA produced no serious side effects, and cured 67 percent of participants from PTSD symptoms.
“If we do succeed with our second Phase-3 study, it means that the whole field of psychedelic psychotherapy has been proven in one instance, and it’s the pathbreaker for the FDA,” said Dr. Rick Doblin, the MAPS founder and executive director, who expects full FDA approval for MDMA and DEA rescheduling by 2023.
“This treatment is the reason that my son has a father instead of a folded flag,” Lubecky told Guthrie when asked for his message to other veterans suffering from PTSD. “I want all of you to be around when this is FDA approved. I know you can make it; I know what your suffering is like. I will tell you, it’s all gone.”
“This seems revolutionary,” commented Carson Daly, who said he suffers from a panic disorder, which renders him unable to control fear or worry. “It has that potential,” Guthrie added.
Click here to watch the full report, which appears to have awakened the Today team to the incredible benefits that psychedelics can offer society.
