Psychedelic Therapy Crashed and Burned. MAHA Might Bring It Back

MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD faced a major setback when the FDA rejected the proposed treatment path, and the campaign to legalize medical MDMA unraveled amid abuse allegations and internal conflict. The story centers on MAPS and its founder Rick Doblin, who spent decades building clinical evidence through MAPS and the for-profit subsidiary Lykos Therapeutics, including a pivotal FDA advisory committee hearing where veterans and other witnesses described both the therapy’s promise and serious misconduct concerns. Investigations and rival advocacy efforts, including Psymposia and media coverage of the program, are portrayed as shaping the regulatory outcome. The article also frames a potential new turn in politics and funding support tied to the US administration’s broader interest in psychedelic medicine, suggesting a second push for approval may be possible if trust, safety, and governance failures are fully addressed.