The FDA has approved research into whether Ecstasy should be used in palliative care of terminal cancer patients to ease their final days.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a pilot study looking at whether the recreational hallucinogen can help terminally-ill patients lessen their fears, quell thoughts of suicide and make it easier for them to deal with loved ones.
"End of life issues are very important and are getting more and more attention, and yet there are very few options for patients who are facing death," Dr John Halpern, the Harvard research psychiatrist in charge of the study, said.
The small four-month study is expected to begin early next spring. It will test the drug's effects on 12 cancer patients from the Lahey Clinic Medical Centre in the Boston area. The research is being sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a non-profit group that plans to raise 250,000 (-184,816) to fund it.
(via Fark)
