Family-owned soap company Dr. Bronner’s is committed to making the world a better place, and their latest pledge is to donate $5 million to assist FDA trials of MDMA to help people suffering from PTSD.
Unfortunately, the stigma attached to substances primarily known as recreational drugs often prohibits afflicted individuals from receiving treatment that works. The prime example of this is marijuana, now Ketamine and MDMA are taking the spotlight for their therapeutic potential.
Awareness of the severity of PTSD is growing worldwide. Post-traumatic stress disorder, common in military servants and survivors of violence, can cause serious anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. No one deserves to live with this condition, and MDMA has been shown to alleviate these symptoms.
“There’s tremendous suffering and pain, the responsible integration of MDMA for treatment will alleviate and heal,” says David Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner’s. “To help inspire our allies to close the funding gap, my family has pledged $1 million a year for five years, $5 million total, by far our largest gift to an NGO partner to date. In part, we were inspired by the incredible example of Ashawna Hailey, former MAPS Board member, who gave MAPS $5 million when she died in 2011.”
MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies has been given permission by the Food and Drug Administration to start Phase III trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for people with PTSD that have been resistant to traditional treatments. Ultimately, the goal is for MDMA to become an FDA-approved prescription treatment for PTSD.
“MAPS intends to use the income generated from selling MDMA once it’s an FDA-approved medicine to train therapists and set up treatment clinics around the world,” explains Rick Doblin, Ph.D., and founder of MAPS. “Investment into making MDMA a legal medicine will turn MAPS into a self-sustaining organism, exponentially increasing our ability to heal suffering in the world.”
Together, Doblin and Bronner released the statement:
”Our larger goal is to see psychedelic medicine responsibly integrated into American and global culture, readily available to those who need it most, while helping the rest of us open our hearts and minds towards each other and to the miraculous living world we live within.”
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