DEA Approves A New Study Of MDMA For Anxiety About Death. For most of us it’s difficult to imagine the overwhelming stress and anxiety that comes when you’re told your days of life are numbered.
The psychological issues associated with terminal diagnosis are some of the most severe and difficult to treat via the traditional psychotherapy model. In recent years, a series of studies have shown that the use of various psychedelics, coupled with therapy, has unprecedented potential to relieve anxiety for people facing death. For example, the first study looking at the potential medical use of LSD in more than 40 years concluded last year that LSD-assisted psychotherapy is effective in easing anxiety in terminally ill patients. A 2008 study showed the ability of psilocybin (the active component in more than 100 varieties of psychedelic mushrooms) to ease fear of death in 12 end-stage cancer patients.