Two Birds One Stone? MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Veterans With Comorbid PTSD and Alcohol Use Disorder
My professional experience with guiding MDMA journeys for nearly 10 years is that MDMA offers insight. Alcohol abuse, cannabis abuse, behaviours developed as a coping mechanism begin to melt. The armor of protection, with a 6 hour guided journey, sheds light. Choices emerge. Often my clients are surprised at how the ‘crave’ evaporates. There is no strugggle to abstain. Choices of how to face, engage and participate with the urge emerge.
Co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use disorder in Veterans is one of the most treatment-resistant combinations in the field, with each condition undermining the standard approaches to the other. This open-label pilot enrolled 10 Veterans in a protocol of 11 sessions (three preparatory, two MDMA, six integration). Ninety percent completed treatment. PTSD severity fell significantly on the CAPS-5 (p = 0.006, d = 1.241). Alcohol outcomes were directionally positive, with 31% fewer drinks per drinking day and 54% fewer heavy drinking days, but did not reach significance in a sample of ten. No serious adverse events. No systematic increase in substance use.
The trial establishes feasibility and safety in a population that had no published clinical data. Practitioners working with Veterans who carry both diagnoses now have a first data point to anchor the conversation about whether MDMA-assisted therapy might be an appropriate consideration.
Eaton, E., et al. MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Veterans with Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder: Clinical Outcomes from the First Open-Label Pilot Trial. Alcohol, 2026. Published online October 30, 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
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