Regulators at the Food and Drug Administration have designated MDMA, the drug known as ecstasy, and psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in psychedelic mushrooms, as “breakthrough therapies.” That label means the two drugs, which have been used in clinical trials to treat patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression, may offer substantial improvements over existing therapies. Both are widely expected to get FDA approval for mainstream clinical use by 2024.
