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Why 80 lawmakers are urging Joe Biden to re-examine the medical use of MDMA
Over 80 Republicans and Democrats are urging Joe Biden to allow the use of psychedelic drugs for struggling military veterans.
MDMA, also known as ecstasy, is a psychedelic that has been found in some studies to help with the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Due to its high abuse potential, the Schedule I drug is currently illegal in the U.S. to take recreationally or for medical purposes.
But an overwhelming number of lawmakers want the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to green light MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) for veterans with PTSD.
Millions of Americans suffer from PTSD and more combat veterans have died to suicide than to war in recent years, Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., a retired three-star general, points out in a letter to Biden asking for a path for treatment for soldiers.
'The evidence is clear: MDMA-AT is a safe and effective form of therapy for our veterans who suffer from invisible wounds of service,' Bergman said in an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com.
A group of 80 congressional lawmakers led by Michigan Republican Rep. Jack Bergman sent a letter directly President Joe Biden demanding he take action to allow MDMA-assisted therapy to move forward at the FDA in a bid to help veterans with PTSD
'I led my colleagues in this letter to the President because it’s time for our country to put politics in the backseat and place our Veterans’ lives first.'
'To truly attack the Veteran suicide crisis at its root, we need to be making such groundbreaking therapies widely and readily available to those who served our Nation,' his statement continued.
Bergman directly asks to the president to reconsider the studies on MDMA in his letter that was signed by 60 members of the House.
'Thousands of Veterans suffering from PTSD continue to take their lives each year,' Bergman wrote to Biden. 'Current treatments clearly are not working well enough, and our Veterans can no longer wait.'
'If the data and evidence show that MDMA-AT is safe and effective at relieving the suffering that many Veterans face, then we owe it to them and the millions of others who are living with PTSD to make this treatment option available to them.'
A Senate letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf signed by 19 senators noted how '6,000 veterans die by suicide each year, with over 150,000 suicides since 9/11.'
According to the Department of Veterans' Affairs, five percent of Americans experienced PTSD in 2020, roughly 13 million citizens in total.
Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, during a combat deployment somewhere in the Middle East. After suffering a spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury (TBI) he turned to psychedelic medicines to recover. He has credited some of those treatments with saving his life
MDMA is known commonly as the party drug 'Molly.' It recently has been studied by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for potential benefits in treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
An FDA advisory panel of 11 decided 10-1 against the recommendation of MDMA for PTSD in June. Their final decision is expected this month
The bipartisan letter comes two months after the an FDA panel initially shot down MDMA-AT after a preliminary review at the beginning of June.
The agency found that there were inconsistencies in data across MDMA for PTSD studies, leading to further questions about its efficacy.
They also found that MDMA poses drug risks such as abuse, injury and potential heart problems.
Notably, the FDA panel said the studies were not diverse enough.
Many of the studies they reviewed involved white males and only five black males were given MDMA in the tests, the Associated Press reported.
The FDA's decision in June did not stop the drug from becoming an approved therapy, however, as that decision is expected in August.
A cosigner of the Bergman letter, Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, has credited psychedelic drugs he was able to take in Mexico with saving his life and marriage after experiencing the true atrocity of war through multiple brutal combat deployments.
Luttrell served as a Navy SEAL for 14 years before medically retiring
Luttrell had to go to Mexico to get psychotherapies after his military tenure
He called the FDA panel's choice 'a poor decision and a step in the wrong direction,' at the time
'I've traveled the country studying and researching these emerging therapies, and I have personally experienced the groundbreaking effects they can have,' the former Navy SEAL told DailyMail.com .
'I will never stop advocating for innovative solutions for our veterans and service members,' Luttrell said.
After serving as a SEAL for 14 years, he medically retired in 2014 to seek treatment for mental health issues that came as a result of his service.
He argues that for veterans who suffer from war-induced mental issues, PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs), sometimes there are no other options besides psychedelics.
After himself suffering a TBI and spinal cord injury in a 2009 helicopter crash, he has been working to make available the treatments which aided him to other veterans.
'The effects of emerging therapies for our veterans have been groundbreaking, and I'm proud to be a leader on pushing forward this innovative tool into the proverbial toolbox, especially while moving away from opioids,' Luttrell told DailyMail.com previously.