Ecstasy drugs for Israeli soldiers traumatized by Hezbollah
By Guest Post • Apr 25th, 2008 at 10:16 • Category: Israel, NewswireIsraeli soldiers suffering from post-traumatic disorder as a result of the 2006 war with Hezbollah are being treated with the mind-altering drug Ecstasy, local media reported.
An Israeli medical team has started tests using Ecstasy as a treatment for conflict-linked s suffered mainly by troops who fought against Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Maariv daily reported on Friday. Doctors at the Beer-Yakov psychiatric hospital south of Tel Aviv are testing the response of Israeli post-traumatic disorder patients to MDMA, the active ingredient in the drug.
Users report that Ecstasy produces intensely pleasurable effects – including an enhanced sense of self-confidence and energy. Effects include feelings of peacefulness, acceptance and empathy. Users say they experience feelings of closeness with others and a desire to touch others.
After-effects can include sleep problems, anxiety and depression.
Use, supply and trafficking of ecstasy are currently illegal in most countries. Ecstasy is illegal in all countries belonging to the United Nations.
Rakefet Rodriguez, Sergio Marchiveski and Marina Kaufchicz, who are leading the experimental program, are convinced that psychotherapy is crucial in curing patients and that Ecstasy can help them to recover.
The doctors believe the drug has both calming and stimulating effects that can help patients not only overcome trauma but also dominate it, Maariv said.
Almost 500 reserve troops suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following the 34-day war that pitted Israeli troops against Lebanon's Hizbullah Shiite militia in July and August 2006, the paper said.
More on Ecstasy
Ecstasy, while illegal in most countries, is one of the world's most commonly used narcotics.
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine), most commonly known today by the street name Ecstasy (often abbreviated E, X, or XTC), is a semisynthetic member of the phenethylamine class of psychoactive drugs. MDMA also falls under many other broad categories of substances, including amphetamines/stimulants, psychedelics, and the empathogenic-entactogens.
The drug is considered unusual for its tendency to produce feelings of euphoria, a sense of intimacy with others, and diminished feelings of fear and anxiety. MDMA has more consistent emotional effects than most psychedelics and has a euphoria that appears to be different from most stimulants. Before it was made a controlled substance, MDMA was used to aid psychotherapy, often couples therapy, although results of this therapy are poorly documented.
MDMA is criminalized in most countries, and its possession, manufacture, or sale may result in criminal prosecution. Despite widespread illegality, MDMA is today one of the most commonly-used illicit drugs in the world and is taken in a variety of contexts far-removed from its roots in psychotherapeutic settings. It is commonly associated with the rave culture and its related genres of music.
An ongoing study by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies is evaluating the efficacy of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treating those diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. To participate, patients must have had the disorder for a number of years and tried other treatments without success. In a newspaper interview, the researchers report promising tendencies for some participants to have reduced disease severity after MDMA psychotherapy.
Via: Ya Libnan
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In fact it is the Germany who should give refuge to the Palestians.It was the presecution and killing of six million Jews that created the stateof Israel and consequent Palestinian refugee problem. If Germany takes six million Palestinians,than all the problems associated with the right of return, which Israel is so afraid of is solved. Why not a Palestinian state in Germany?That is the most apropriate compensation for the Holocaust.
Why not leave the Palestinian on their land and give the Zionists a land in Germany?
About drugs and soldiers: it 's been common practice at least in modern times to connect soldiers (fighters) and drugs, and in very different circumstances.
With soldiers, you have a scientifically valid sampling: people from the same area, same age, etc. It is logical that they can be guinea pigs for testing because you can obtain a lot of data from them, and, they can't refuse to obey and they can't just "disappear", you can take blood samples, urine samples, interview them, film them, etc. Perfect. The CIA also did this using a wide variety of drugs.
In places like Sierra Leone, children are drugged so that they become warriors. An empty belly and a lack of natural aggression or any kind of training will turn frightened children into cannon fodder that can hold an automatic rifle.
In this particular case, the returning soldiers are treated as "victims" who are suffering post-traumatic stress, but can also be used to test how this drug can be used for the next group of combat soldiers. It's not for them, but this is the way that they justify it with the public.