PTSD and Illegal drugs

Is using illegal drugs in treating patients with Post-traumatic stress disorder ethical or unethical?  All drugs, illegal or legal, if given in the wrong dosage can cause them to become lethal. So, if we can give ecstasy (illegal drug) in an appropriate amount and found it to be effective in helping with PTSD in veterans, then why not try.  If we did try this method then who would fund it, who would pay for the therapy, would Veteran Affairs pay? 

What is PTSD?  The Mayo Clinic states that, PTSD symptoms are generally grouped into four types: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, or changes in emotional reactions.  It is a debilitating disease effecting veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan war at an estimated 118,829 men and women since 2004. The current treatment usually involves the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), psychotherapy, or a combination of the two. The only FDA-approved SSRIs for PTSD are sertraline and paroxetine. While psychotherapy and SSRIs help PTSD, there is evidence that they do not work at all and the need for better and more treatments is necessary.

With these treatments there are costs and the estimated cost of the first year of treatment for one veteran is $8,300, the total cost for the 118,829 veterans equals, $986,280,700. This a lot of money for treatment for one year and the majority of PTSD patients need years of therapy. So what if talk therapy and ecstasy work, what would the cost of this drug and treatment be and what would be more effective?

MDMA, or the street name Ecstasy is a synthetic, psychoactive drug that has similarities to both the stimulant amphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. The feeling one may get using this drug is euphoria and it diminishes the anxiety that a veteran with PTSD may face. Dr. Shulgin first came about MDMA in the 70's and found that it helped in clinical therapy sessions and allowed the patient to open up and feel more relaxed. If this drug helps veterans open up and face the traumatic event quicker and more beneficial to all, then why not consider the use under supervision.  It has been found that existing treatments for PTSD are limited and ineffective for between 25-50% of patients and trials using ecstasy have been found to help treat PTSD in patients.

The other issues regarding illegal drug use is the ethical dilemmas that will be faced in the treatment. With the war on ecstasy dating back to the 80's by Nancy Reagan, banning MDMA, how could trials be done without the ethical issues that they may face?  What do we do and where do we go to find a balance between ethics and possible effective treatments that pose problems to ethical boundaries?

How do you feel about the drug use and the psychotherapy, do you think it works or do you think it will cause more damage then good? On the other hand if you think this could be a breakthrough, what would you suggest in handling the ethical issues that the treatment will face?