A study on MDMA treatment for new mothers, which launched in the spring, is being led by Dr. Larry Leeman, the medical director of the University of New Mexico’s Milagro Program.

Leeman “treats expectant mothers experiencing opioid use disorder,” and “was dismayed to see that many of his patients eventually resumed opioid use due untreated post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” according to a press release from the university on the study.

“Now, Leeman and his colleagues are launching a first-of-its-kind pilot study to see whether a regimen of trauma-focused therapy coupled with doses of MDMA – popularly known to rave participants as ecstasy or molly – can help new mothers permanently overcome their drug dependency,” the press release said.

In an interview this week with local news station KOB, Leeman explained that New Mexico is “one of the epicenters of the opioid epidemic.”

A study from the New Mexico Department of Health in 2019 found that nearly two-thirds of those living in the state know someone who is or has been addicted to opioids. According to the agency, New Mexico was the “first state to approve naloxone for use by laypeople and has statewide standing orders for law enforcement to carry and pharmacists to dispense naloxone without a prescription.”

“We know that our communities often have collective intergenerational trauma here and most of the research that’s happening in psychedelic assisted therapy has happened in John Hopkins, it happens in Yale, it happens in different places. This is the first study and its happening here in New Mexico,” Leeman told the station.

The study, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, “will enroll 15 people with diagnoses of moderate to severe PTSD six to 12 months after they have given birth,” the university said. 

Participants in the study “will receive 12 weeks of intensive therapy and three medication sessions.”

“The project, funded through private donations, will assess whether MDMA-assisted therapy can help the mothers overcome their addictions and improve bonding with their infants,” the university explained earlier this year. “Leeman’s team is collaborating with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which is supplying the MDMA used in the pilot. He noted that when the MDMA is purchased on the street it is often dangerously adulterated with other drugs, such as methamphetamine.”

In his interview this week with KOB, Leeman explained that MDMA is a “psychedelic type of drug that is different from classical psychedelics, such as psilocybin in that it really focuses on opening people up to be able to process their trauma.”

“Our hope for using MDMA assisted therapy is to treat that trauma, decrease the likelihood of using opioids again and kind of help set up the mother and the baby and the family for a life that really what everybody who’s using opioids wants, which is not to be using and to be able to be there and be fully present for their babies,” Leeman told the station.

The press release announcing the study earlier this year noted that “MDMA has complex effects, including some that are similar to classic psychedelics, such as psilocybin, which tamps down the brain’s default mode network and may interrupt trauma-driven rumination,” and that “MDMA temporarily increases production of oxytocin, a hormone that promotes a sense of connectedness.”

“Addiction has been described as the opposite of ‘connection,’” Leeman said at the time. “Another proposed mechanism of psychedelic-assisted therapies for addiction is that they increase participants’ connections with self, including emotions, values and life meaning, connection to others – family and community – and connection to the world and universe, which includes connection with nature and the feeling that everything is interconnected.”

“What the MDMA-assisted therapy does is take away their fear for a short period of time,” Leeman added. “During that time, they have the ability to process the trauma that has led to their PTSD and which have never been able to process. It’s a bit of a redo in helping people heal in ways that may improve their ability to bond with their baby.”

Academic research into psychedelic therapies continues to blossom, with local and state governments across the country also increasingly signaling an openness to what was once taboo. 

A recent study led by researchers from NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine in New York found that MDMA could be an effective treatment for various mental health conditions, and that it could also yield benefits when used in concert with other psychedelics. 

Relative to psilocybin/LSD alone, co-use of psilocybin/LSD with a self-reported low (but not medium–high) dose of MDMA was associated with significantly less intense total challenging experiences, grief, and fear, as well as increased self-compassion, love, and gratitude,” the researchers wrote.

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Led by researchers for The University of New Mexico, the study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. It is one of the first to demonstrate the non-medical benefits of cannabis use and positive psychological outcomes among healthy young adults.

Researchers point to the existing literature surrounding cannabis and user effects, noting that the majority focus on the health risks and pharmacodynamics of consumption, rather than investigating other normative psychological effects of use among otherwise healthy people.

“Most investigations on the effects of using cannabis have focused on either negative consequences of cannabis addiction or on the physical health effects of cannabis use,” said Jacob Miguel Vigil, lead investigator and assistant professor at UNM Department of Psychology. “Almost no formal scientific attention has been devoted to understanding other psychological and behavioral effects of consuming the plant, despite it being so widely used throughout human history.”

With controls for the participant’s age, sex, ethnicity, and childhood socioeconomic status, researchers examined 146 healthy college students between 18 and 25 years of age with varying, detectable levels of THC in their urine.

Ultimately, they found that cannabis consumers scored higher than THC-free participants on measures of prosocial behavior, empathy, moral harmlessness, and moral fairness. Cannabis users and non-users had no differences in measurements of anger, hostility, trust of others, facial threat interpretation, extraversion, conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness, or moral decision making founded on principles of respecting authority and preserving the concept of purity.

The findings also suggest that cannabis could contribute to a shift from more ego-centric self-concepts to a heightened sense of selflessness and responsibility to protect others from unneeded harm. Among men, cannabis users scored higher on “agreeableness,” and most of the observed differences in prosociality between cannabis users and non-users had a correlation with the duration of time since participants last used cannabis.

This suggests that the effects of cannabis in this regard are transient; essentially, if you stop consuming cannabis, that extra boost of kindness could vanish.

“The transience of the effects supports that cannabis is triggering behavioral and perceptual changes rather than that cannabis users and non-user differ fundamentally in their baseline approaches to social interactions,” said co-author and Associate Professor Sarah Stith, UNM Department of Economics.

Co-author Tiphanie Chanel called the research “groundbreaking,” adding, “I hope that this work can help pave the road to more fully explore the effects of cannabis on human interactions and wellbeing.” 

Studies show that people develop their personalities during adolescence and young adulthood, when prosocial behaviors and habits are formed. Researchers said that there is a need for further basic, psychological research in these age groups, especially among cannabis users outside of the study sample.

The cross-sectional model of the study didn’t enable researchers to track participants over time, particularly pre- and post-cannabis use. When discussing limitations, researchers also noted that the sample in this study was fairly small and may not be representative of the larger community, effectively limiting the generalizability of the findings. While the sample pulled from a university with a larger proportion of non-traditional students, and more ethnic and racial diversity, they note the lack of non-college students is still limiting.

Where there is still more to explore, Vigil refers to cannabis as a “super medication,” not only effective for treating an array of health conditions but now displaying potential to improve a person’s psychological health.

Vigil added, “Prosociality is essential to society’s overall cohesiveness and vitality, and therefore, cannabis’ effects on our interpersonal interactions may eventually prove to be even more important to societal wellbeing than its medicinal effects.”

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A study entitled “The Effects of Consuming Cannabis Flower for Treatment of Fatigue” was published in Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids in April. The authors conducted the interview through the Economics and Psychology Departments at University of New Mexico (UNM), as well as MoreBetter, which is the creator of an app called Releaf that was used in this study to track consumption.

The study analyzed 1,224 people who conducted 3,922 cannabis flower consumption sessions within the range of June 6 through August 7, 2019 using the Releaf app. Participants recorded their levels of fatigue prior to consumption, as well as afterward, and also included notes about the specific strain and properties they consumed.

The results described that an average of 91.94% of participants felt that their fatigue decreased overall after consuming cannabis. Researchers noted that specific strains labeled as indica, sativa or hybrid did not provide a positive/negative effect in combating fatigue. However, participants who smoked joints felt fatigue relief more than those who chose to consume via pipe or vaporizers.

The authors also wrote that less than 24% of consumers felt negative side effects (described as “lack of motivation or couchlock”) while approximately 37% felt more positive effects (such as “feeling active, energetic, frisky, or productive”). “The findings suggest that the majority of patients experience decreased fatigue from consumption of Cannabis flower consumed in vivo, although the magnitude of the effect and extent of side effects experienced likely vary with individuals’ metabolic states and the synergistic chemotypic properties of the plant.”

In an interview with Benzinga, research author Dr. Jacob Miguel Vigil described that the results of this study were quite the opposite of the pre-existing stigma that still exists in relation to cannabis. “Despite the conventional beliefs that frequent Cannabis use may result in decreased behavioral activity, goal-pursuit, and competitiveness, or what academics have called ‘amotivational syndrome,’ people tend to actually experience an immediate boost in their energy levels immediately after consuming cannabis,” Vigil said.

Both Vigil and Dr. Sarah Stith from UNM’s Department of Economics were surprised that cannabis decreased fatigue in so many participants. “One of the most surprising outcomes of this study is that cannabis in general yielded improvements in symptoms of fatigue, rather than just a subset of products, such as those with higher THC or CBD levels or products characterized as Sativa rather than Indica,” Stith said.

 “At the same time, our observation that the major cannabinoids tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) were largely uncorrelated with changes in feelings of fatigue suggest that other minor cannabinoids and phytochemicals such as terpenes may be more influential on the effects of using cannabis than previously believed,” said Vigil. “In the near future, I anticipate that patients will have the opportunity to access more individualized cannabis products, with distinct and known combinations of chemical profiles for treating their specific health needs and lifestyles.”

MoreBetter’s Releaf App used in this study was designed with helping medical patients and recreational consumers track their consumption data and in essence, demystify cannabis. MoreBetter’s COO, Tyler Dautrich, provided a statement to Benzinga about the study results. “This obviously has implications for patients experiencing fatigue as a symptom of their medical condition, but we also believe this can lead to healthier options for individuals dealing with general day-to-day fatigue,” Dautrich said.

The relation of decreased fatigue with cannabis consumption is a relatively new study topic, but the analysis of cannabis use and exercise has recently become a popular topic. Last summer, the banning of Olympic runner Sha’Carri Richardson for a failed drug test prompted numerous discussions and studies analyzing how cannabis is not a performance enhancing drug. 

In December, the University of Colorado, Boulder announced that it would be conducting a “first of its kind” study on cannabis and exercise with 50 paid volunteers. The study will have participants consume either a CBD-dominant or THC-dominant strain, and when the effects wear off, run on a treadmill for 40 minutes.

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