Pioneers and Studies

Between 1986 and 2000, a range of activities advanced understanding and use of MDMA. This period began with the first scientific conference on MDMA in 1986 and the founding of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). It included the first books on MDMA, a NIDA study on different user groups, early human research in the 1990s, harm-reduction approaches for recreational use, studies on patterns of recreational use, and the first treatment study for PTSD. The narrative also details the struggle to gain approval for the first placebo-controlled therapeutic MDMA study in the United States and reviews the more significant human MDMA research from 1990 to 2000.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract This chapter provides an overview of the range of activities that took place with regard to MDMA over a period of around 15 years (around 1986–2000). It starts with the first scientific conference on MDMA in 1986 and the founding of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), then considers the first books on MDMA, a NIDA study on different groups using MDMA, the first research studies in humans in the early 1990s, approaches to harm reduction for recreational use, human studies on patterns of recreational use, and the first treatment study in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The story of the long struggle to gain approval for the first placebo-controlled therapeutic MDMA study in the United States is also described, as is the history of the more significant MDMA research in humans during the period of 1990 to 2000.