Nature 425, 552 (October 9 2003)

Ecstasy proposed as help for stress victims>
[WASHINGTON] The 'clubbers' drug' ecstasy may be put to a clinical use, now that claims of deadly side-effects have been retracted. Experts at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies in Sarasota, Florida, think that the drug could be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

The study was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in November 2001, but the team has struggled to find an independent review board that is prepared to monitor the study. The project received a near-fatal blow last year when another group claimed that low doses of the drug killed several laboratory monkeys. But their findings were retracted last month after the researchers realized that they had dosed the monkeys with methamphetamine — also known as 'speed' — instead of ecstasy.

In the wake of the retraction, an undisclosed board agreed on 23 September to monitor the stress study. The researchers now have one more hurdle to clear: they need a permit from the US Drug Enforcement Agency to dispense the pills.