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MDMA

Matt Gaetz | Robin Rayne/Zuma Press/Newscom

Trump Administration

Even Without the Sex and Drug Allegations, Matt Gaetz's Nomination Should Have Been Doomed

The House Ethics Committee's findings, combined with Gaetz's lack of relevant experience, again raise the question of why Donald Trump picked him for attorney general.

Jacob Sullum | 12.23.2024 3:25 PM

topicsdrugs | Illustration: Joanna Andreasson

Drugs

A Setback for MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy

An FDA advisory committee concluded that MDMA's benefits had not been shown to outweigh its risks.

Jacob Sullum | 9.12.2024 6:00 AM

Tim Walz speaking next to Nick Gillespie headshot | Lex Villena; Phil Lewis / SOPA Images/Sipa USA/Newscom

Tim Walz

Tim Walz Is Another Big-Government Liberal

Plus: A listener asks the editors about tariffs and subsidies in the manufacture of electric vehicles.

Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman | 8.12.2024 5:23 PM

A hand holding MDMA capsules | MAPS

MDMA

FDA Declines To Approve MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy as a PTSD Treatment

The FDA, which approved the protocols for the studies it now questions, is asking for an additional Phase 3 clinical trial, which would take years and millions of dollars.

Jacob Sullum | 8.12.2024 1:10 PM

A hand holding MDMA capsules | MAPS

MDMA

FDA Advisers Overwhelmingly Oppose Approval of MDMA As a Psychotherapeutic Catalyst

The panel's recommendation, based on several concerns about two clinical trials, is a serious setback for a promising PTSD treatment.

Jacob Sullum | 6.5.2024 4:20 PM

Psychedelic historian Erika Dyck in front of a mushroom background | Lex Villena

Psychedelics

Erika Dyck: Are We Living in a Psychedelic Renaissance?

Historian Erika Dyck contextualizes the deep roots of and battles over LSD, psilocybin, and other psychoactive substances.

Nick Gillespie | 9.20.2023 4:01 PM

Rick Perry standing in front of a campaign bus | Robin Rayne/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom

Psychedelics

Rick Perry: The Conservative Case for Psychedelics

The former Texas governor on helping veterans with PTSD, increasing legal immigration, and the illegal drug he'd most like to try

Nick Gillespie | 9.13.2023 2:44 PM

A photo of Erika Dyck with an illustration in the background of magic mushrooms | Lex Villena

Psychedelics

The Secret History of Psychedelics

Historian Erika Dyck wants to document the deep roots of and battles over LSD, psilocybin, and other psychoactive substances.

Nick Gillespie and Zach Weissmueller | 9.13.2023 11:29 AM

Rick Dublin gives a speech | Illustration: Lex Villena; Bret Hartman / TED

Psychedelics

Rick Doblin: The Man Behind the 'Psychedelic '20s'

The founder of MAPS talks about FDA approval for MDMA-assisted therapy and the "psychedelic renaissance" he has helped create.

Nick Gillespie | 9.6.2023 4:09 PM

changed-my-life | Illustration: Lex Villena

Psychedelics

Comedian Shane Mauss: Shrooms, DMT, Joe Rogan, and the 'Psychedelic Renaissance'

Reason's Nick Gillespie talked with Mauss, a comedian who tours the country discussing his psychedelic experiences, at the Psychedelic Science 2023 conference.

Nick Gillespie | 9.6.2023 10:30 AM

perry | Lex Villena

Psychedelics

Rick Perry: The Conservative Case for Psychedelic Medicine

The former Texas governor on helping veterans with PTSD, increasing legal immigration, and the illegal drug he'd most like to try

Nick Gillespie | 8.29.2023 11:57 AM

rick-doblin | Illustration: Lex Villena; Midjourney

Psychedelics

Rick Doblin: 'Welcome to the Psychedelic '20s!'

Reason's Nick Gillespie talked with MAPS founder Rick Doblin about the imminent FDA approval of MDMA- and psilocybin-assisted therapy at the Psychedelic Science conference in Denver.

Nick Gillespie | 8.23.2023 10:30 AM

8219958_9x16 | Arthur Nazaryan

Psychedelics

Serene Wanted To Quit Heroin. She Tried Psychedelics.

A documentary short about a woman who takes ayahuasca to alleviate the pain caused by addiction

Arthur Nazaryan, Qinling Li, and Nick Gillespie | 1.24.2023 12:08 PM

Brady-Brammer-Utah-House-cropped | Utah House of Representatives

Drug Legalization

All But 2 Utah Legislators Just Voted to Investigate the Psychotherapeutic Potential of Psychedelics

The bill is the latest sign of strange new respect for drugs that were once routinely depicted as menaces to body and soul.

Jacob Sullum | 3.1.2022 5:50 PM

A hand holding MDMA capsules | MAPS

MDMA

A Phase 3 Clinical Trial Confirms MDMA's Effectiveness As a Psychotherapeutic Catalyst

Subjects diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder made substantially more progress when they received MDMA rather than a placebo.

Jacob Sullum | 5.10.2021 5:00 PM

interview1 | Photo by Julian Dufort

Drug Legalization

Coming Out of the Chemical Closet

Neuropsychopharmacologist Carl Hart says most of what the public knows about drugs is both scary and wrong.

Nick Gillespie | 4.20.2021 6:00 AM

8099689_thumbnail

MDMA

This 71-Year-Old 'Love Doc' Says MDMA Is 'Emotional Superglue'

"It's like taking a chemical helicopter ride above my life," says psychotherapist Charles Wininger. "Then I can come back down and rededicate myself to the way I want to be living."

Nick Gillespie | 1.13.2021 9:45 AM

charley2 | Sylvia Lachter, nv-design.com

Psychedelics

Charles Wininger: Why We Should Listen To Ecstasy and Other Psychedelics

A 71-year-old therapist comes out of the "chemical closet" to promote MDMA as a means of self-discovery

Nick Gillespie | 12.30.2020 3:36 PM

interview | Adamkhabibi/Fiverr

Psychedelics

'People Should Have the Fundamental Right To Change Their Consciousness'

Rick Doblin, a leading force in America's psychedelic renaissance, imagines a world of "mass mental health" facilitated by formerly demonized drugs.

Nick Gillespie | 6.21.2020 6:00 AM

Have_a_Good_Trip__Adventures_in_Psychedelics_00_13_50_20_R | Netflix, Sunset Rose Pictures

Psychedelics

Have a Good Trip Explores Psychedelic Celebrities

New documentary features Sting, Sarah Silverman, Anthony Bourdain, Carrie Fisher, and others discussing the good, bad, and ugly of LSD.

Nick Gillespie | 5.13.2020 3:00 PM

doblinincar | Sarah Rose Siskind

Psychedelics

Rick Doblin: 'People Should Have the Fundamental Human Right To Change Their Consciousness'

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is making MDMA and other drugs medically legitimate and socially acceptable.

Nick Gillespie | 4.8.2020 12:05 PM

medicine-man-budtender | JZS

Drug Policy

This Was the Decade When Politicians Stopped Panicking About Marijuana and Started Panicking About Nicotine

Despite notable progress in policies regarding pot and psychedelics, the war on drugs always finds new targets.

Jacob Sullum | 12.13.2019 7:00 AM

Hamilton Morris-3

Drug Policy

What Will Drugs Be Like After Prohibition? Q&A with Hamilton Morris

The host of Hamilton's Pharmacopeia is already exploring what a post-prohibition world is going to look like.

Nick Gillespie | 5.10.2019 2:45 PM

morris

Drug Legalization

Hamilton Morris Is Changing the Way We Talk About Drugs

The host of Hamilton's Pharmacopeia is exploring what a post-prohibition world will look like.

Nick Gillespie, Mark McDaniel, and Alexis Garcia | 5.10.2019 1:00 PM

siskinddrugtest | Drug Test

Weed Week

What Will Post-Prohibition Drug Culture Look Like?

Sarah Rose Siskind's monthly show Drug Test is creating a world of educated psychonauts one trip at a time.

Nick Gillespie | 4.19.2019 12:15 PM

Large image on homepages

Reason Podcast

How Psychedelics Changed the Life of One of America's Leading Novelists: Podcast

Tao Lin's Trip details how the author's experience with LSD, DMT, psilocybin, and more blew his mind while making him more human.

Nick Gillespie | 12.11.2018 5:45 PM

Large image on homepages

MDMA

PTSD Study Finds Dramatic Improvement With MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy

One year after their final sessions, three-quarters of the subjects no longer qualified for a diagnosis.

Jacob Sullum | 10.29.2018 1:15 PM

Large image on homepages | portokalis/iStock

Drugs

FDA May Soon Allow MDMA Prescriptions for PTSD

MDMA, which was banned by the Drug Enforcement Administration in 1985, could be available by prescription as soon as 2021.

Jacob Sullum | 7.31.2018 6:00 AM

MDMA

A Forbidden Remedy for Veterans' Nightmares

Banned Since 1985, MDMA could soon be approved as a PTSD treatment.

Jacob Sullum | 5.2.2018 12:01 AM

Large image for longform feature pages. | Augustrats

Veterans

Enlisting Marijuana and MDMA to Fight PTSD

Veterans turn to forbidden cures for relief from their nightmares.

Jacob Sullum | 10.29.2017 7:00 AM

Large image on homepages

MDMA

FDA Deems MDMA, Banned Since 1985, a 'Breakthrough Therapy'

The designation should speed the drug's approval as a prescription medicine, which could happen as soon as 2021.

Jacob Sullum | 8.28.2017 12:30 PM

Large image on homepages

Reason Podcast

Countdown To (Legalized) Ecstasy! Rick Doblin, MAPS, & the Psychedelic Renaissance [Podcast]

Serious researchers are about to do what Timothy Leary never managed: Get government approval for LSD, MDMA, and more.

Nick Gillespie and Ian Keyser | 7.19.2017 11:00 AM

Large image for longform feature pages. | Joanna Andreasson

LSD

Medical Researchers Are Steps From Legalizing Ecstasy. Here's How They Did It.

A half century after the psychedelic movement came to a screeching halt, MDMA scientists are making the most of a second chance.

Mike Riggs | 7.18.2017 8:30 AM

Large image on homepages

MDMA

MDMA Moves One Step Closer to Phase 3 Clinical Trial

Successful clinical trials would lead to MDMA's removal from schedule I.

Mike Riggs | 5.17.2017 4:45 PM

Large image on homepages | Flickr user tom_bullock/Creative Commons

Drug Policy

Why LSD Trips Last Forever, What Happens When You Inject Psilocybin

And other fun notes from the world's largest gathering of psychedelic researchers.

Mike Riggs | 4.26.2017 5:25 PM

Large image on homepages

MDMA

FDA Approves Final Stage of MDMA Drug Trials

Banned in 1985, the "empathogen" could be legally available as a psychotherapeutic catalyst as soon as 2021.

Jacob Sullum | 11.30.2016 8:15 AM

Large image on homepages

Policy

New Study Confirms That Molly Users Don't Know What They're Taking

Surveys combined with hair tests indicate that MDMA adulteration is common.

Jacob Sullum | 2.22.2016 8:17 AM

Large image on homepages

Policy

The Year's Best Drug Scares

Impossibly potent marijuana edibles, formaldehyde in e-cigarettes, pills of war, MDMA disguised as Halloween candy, and superhuman flakka zombies.

Jacob Sullum | 12.28.2015 12:01 AM

Large image on homepages

War on Drugs

The Five Best Drug Scares of 2015

Super-potent pot, formaldehyde in e-cigarettes, the supersoldier pill, MDMA in trick-or-treat bags, and "$5 insanity"

Jacob Sullum | 12.24.2015 8:56 AM

Large image on homepages

War on Drugs

Wrecking Ball

Charles Oliver | 10.30.2015 6:00 AM

Large image on homepages

Policy

An Urban Legend Evolves: First Pot, Now MDMA in Trick-or-Treat Bags

There's no evidence anyone has ever passed off marijuana edibles or Molly tablets as Halloween candy.

Jacob Sullum | 10.28.2015 7:30 AM

Large image on homepages

Policy

Prohibition Kills

Four examples of drugs the government made more dangerous by banning them

Jacob Sullum | 10.5.2015 12:01 AM

Large image on homepages

Policy

Fentanyl-Laced Heroin and Other Deadly Consequences of Prohibition

How the government makes drugs more dangerous

Jacob Sullum | 10.2.2015 7:30 AM

Large image on homepages

Policy

5 Drug Scares vs. Reality

The disconnect between drug use and public alarm about it

Jacob Sullum | 9.7.2015 12:01 AM

Policy

Survey Data Highlight the Tenuous Relationship Between Drug Panics and Reality

Fear of meth, bath salts, salvia, MDMA, and heroin correspond loosely, at best, to actual trends in drug use.

Jacob Sullum | 9.4.2015 8:00 AM

Large image on homepages | Screenshot/KSDK video

Culture

Missourians Freak Out Over Cheeky Fireworks Billboard (Which May Be Driving Up Local Meth Use!)

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 6.30.2014 4:10 PM

Policy

The DEA's 'Four Decades of Impeding and Rejecting Science'

Jacob Sullum | 6.10.2014 4:24 PM

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