A charity is going to give people ecstasy to tackle alcoholism

Alcohol and drugs charity Addaction will provide clients with MDMA to help them tackle and discuss their addiction.

According to the Bristol Post, the study will take place across North Somerset with a group of Addaction clients. Volunteers will be helped through detox prior to therapy, after which they will receive a series of psychotherapy sessions. While four of them will be carried out under normal circumstances, clients will be given MDMA under medical supervision in two of them.

Discussing the potential efficacy of the treatment, Dr Ben Sessa explained: "MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is still tough and distressing, but it gives the patient an extra layer of armour.

"It helps them talk about their pain, reflect on the root cause, and begin the healing process”.

Ecstasy has previously been suggested as a treatment for alcohol addiction, with Imperial College London launching a series of clinical trials seeking to understand the drug's medical potential.

It has also been suggested MDMA-assisted psychotherapy could come into play by 2021 in the United States.

[Photo: MDMA Team]