MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), known colloquially as Molly and Ecstasy, is a synthetic drug with effects similar to stimulants like methamphetamine. It was first synthesized in 1912 by German chemists at Merck pharmaceutical company, who were developing compounds related to blood-clotting agents, not recreational drugs.

An American chemist, Alexander Shulgin, re-synthesized it in the 1970s and tested its psychoactive properties. He introduced it to psychotherapists, who found it helpful in enhancing communication in therapy, producing a sense of emotional closeness, empathy, and social connection.

Those who use MDMA feel self-confident and open up in social situations, believing strangers "get them" immediately. As a result, MDMA is called an empathogen or entactogen. Users experience euphoria due to release of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which activate the reward system, enhancing oxytocin and prolactin release while dampening amygdala fear circuits.

MDMA is a drug that is often illegally manufactured and taken illicitly by club-goers, teens, and young adults. While rates of teen MDMA use have been declining over the past decade, about 2.4 million young people used the drug in the past year, and about 10% of high school seniors have tried MDMA at least once, according to the Monitoring the Future survey.  

But MDMA is also made to pharmaceutical-grade standards and studied by researchers as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most people associate PTSD with soldiers and combat stress, and many cases of PTSD indeed occur among veterans. But the National Center for PTSD reports that 6 percent of the U.S. population suffers from PTSD at some point in time, characterized by recurrent and intrusive distressing memories, hyperarousal, anxiety, and mood disturbances. Experiencing a life-threatening event such as war, sexual assault, natural disaster, accident, or

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