Psychedelic drug MDMA faces FDA panel in bid to become first-of-a-kind PTSD medication

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health advisers are weighing the first-of-a-kind approval of MDMA, the mind-altering club drug, as a treatment for PTSD — part of a decadeslong effort by psychedelic advocates to win medical acceptance for the drug's purported benefits.

The Food and Drug Administration convened a panel of outside experts Tuesday to review the latest research on the drug, which appears to show it can help relieve post-traumatic stress disorder when combined with talk therapy.

But FDA regulators have questions about the reliability of that data, as well as MDMA's safety risks, which include the potential for heart problems, injury and drug abuse.

The FDA panel will vote later Tuesday on whether to recommend the drug's use for PTSD, which could set the stage for federal approval later this summer, though the FDA isn't required to follow the group's recommendations.