Mithoefer is examining whether ecstasy can help trauma victims face their emotional wounds. "Ecstasy makes people comfortable with themselves. It brings them into the moment," said Rick Doblin, director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a non-profit group funding Mithoefer's research.

Mithoefer is among the few people allowed by the government to conduct human research on the benefits of ecstasy. Permission from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ca,e after nearly a decade of lobbying by researchers and doctors at Harvard University and the University of California, Los Angeles to allow the research.

"I'd like to see [ecstasy] widely used in psychiatry," said Harvard psychiatrist John Halpern, a leading proponent. "It is potentially a very valuable tool."

However, other scientists and officials are concerned over conclusions from previous studies that ecstasy causes permanent brain damage, particularly to memory.

"Let's not kid ourselves. The bulk of the evidence is on the side of risk," said David Murray, a policy analyst at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. "The only question is how permanent and how extensive the damage is."

Mithoefer's study will involve 20 subjects. Twelve of the subjects will be given ecstasy, while eight will receive a placebo. Over the 12-week trial, subjects will also talk with Mithoefer and another therapist to try to confront their traumas.

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