Former Defence Chief Advocates for Expanded MDMA-Assisted Therapy Trials
Sir Nick Carter, the former head of the British military, has issued a compelling call for the government to support further clinical trials of MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. This appeal follows a significant study published in Nature Medicine which demonstrated that PTSD symptoms were eliminated in an impressive 71% of the 52 cases tested using this innovative therapeutic approach.
Regulatory Hurdles and Prohibitive Costs
The former Chief of the Defence Staff, who served until 2021, highlighted a major obstacle to advancing this promising treatment: the UK's stringent drug classification system. Sir Nick explained that existing regulations dramatically inflate the cost of research-grade MDMA, with a single gram of medical-grade material costing approximately £10,000. This stands in stark contrast to the street price of about £40 for the same substance, making clinical trials prohibitively expensive for researchers and charities.
"What we want is for the government to make the cost of trials much cheaper," Carter emphasised. "We're not asking for MDMA to be declassified, but there should be some sort of reduction in its classification when it comes to medical treatment."
Beyond Military Applications
The potential benefits of this therapeutic approach extend well beyond the veteran community. Carter pointed out that successful MDMA-assisted therapy could help numerous other groups who regularly face traumatic situations in their professional lives.
"This could help not just veterans, but others such as police and workers in other emergency services and the NHS as well," he added, suggesting a broader societal impact for this treatment modality.
Currently classified as a Class A drug in the United Kingdom, MDMA's illegal status for recreational use creates substantial logistical challenges for clinical researchers. To utilise the substance in therapeutic settings, it must be imported from abroad and transported in specially secured convoys, adding significant expense to already costly research programmes.
Current Research Initiatives
A collaborative effort between the University of Cambridge and the charity Supporting Wounded Veterans, of which Carter serves as patron, is actively seeking to raise £2 million to fund an expanded trial. This next phase aims to include approximately 40 participants from diverse backgrounds affected by PTSD.
According to Gilly Norton, chief executive of Supporting Wounded Veterans, the initiative has already secured £700,000 toward its goal. The planned trial would encompass veterans, first responders, and war correspondents all struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder within the UK.
The Therapeutic Mechanism
MDMA-assisted therapy typically involves two or three extended eight-hour sessions conducted under careful clinical supervision. During these sessions, therapists work with patients to explore traumatic memories and underlying psychological issues that individuals with PTSD would normally resist addressing.
"Essentially it affects the plasticity of the brain," Carter explained regarding the treatment's mechanism. "So when the psychiatrist asks questions, the patient is much more responsive. The process needs to be closely supervised; it's not about creating a trip, but having the right effect."
The substance's empathogenic qualities - which in recreational settings produce feelings of euphoria, wellbeing, empathy and compassion - are precisely what mental health researchers seek to harness therapeutically.
A Veteran's Perspective
Martin Wade, a 53-year-old former British army lawyer who developed complex PTSD after serving in Helmand province, Afghanistan, represents the human dimension of this issue. Following his deployment in 2006-07, Wade struggled with his mental health for years before receiving a PTSD diagnosis and ultimately facing abrupt discharge from military service.
Wade's responsibilities included determining whether proposed military operations complied with UK and international law, and investigating incidents involving civilian casualties. One particularly traumatic case involved a ricocheting warning shot that killed three civilians, including a mother and her three-year-old child.
"What I found particularly difficult was that as time went on, I felt more and more responsible for what was happening on the ground," Wade recalled of his service.
Despite years of conventional psychiatric treatment, Wade continues to experience persistent symptoms including hyper-vigilance, hyper-arousal, flashbacks and nightmares. He now advocates passionately for expanded therapeutic options for veterans struggling with similar conditions.
"What really irritates me is that when you are in somewhere like Afghanistan, you realise how far missiles are being used at £80,000 per warhead," Wade observed. "And you think, just if the government would give each veteran that's really struggling £80,000 worth of therapy."
Wade expressed particular hope about the potential of MDMA-assisted therapy, believing it "really offers some hope to veterans" by providing "a sense of self-love when you're talking about difficult and ingrained experiences that have become part of a chronic condition."
The Path Forward
With approximately 9% of military veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan deployments affected by PTSD, and promising preliminary research suggesting MDMA-assisted therapy could prove more effective than existing treatments, the call for expanded trials grows increasingly urgent. The combination of therapeutic innovation and regulatory reform could potentially transform mental health treatment for thousands across the United Kingdom who suffer from treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress.
