Decades after the U.S. Federal Government banned the drug ecstasy - which in turn went underground, gaining notoriety as a party drug - a Bay Area medical team got special permission to study its therapeutic use. The goal of the trial is to see whether a pure dose of the compound MDMA, also known as ecstasy, can be pure medicine: could it ease the crippling anxiety, fear, or depression felt by those suffering from a life-threatening disease? The lead investigator for this study is psychiatrist Phil Wolfson. The medical doctor has permission from the U.S. FDA to conduct the study, and legally administer the drug. The FDA approved so the DEA had to follow suit," explained Wolfson. Before the DEA declared MDMA illegal in 1985, Doctor Wolfson used it medicinally in his own practice and saw a tremendous benefit for patients. In the study, MDMA is not used alone. The use of the compound is combined with psychotherapy sessions that can last five hours or longer. "It's not this 50 minutes in and out, it's these extended periods of real interactive exchange, " explained [study participant Andy] Gold. "With the MDMA, everything opened up," recalled [study participant Wendy] Donner. "You start seeing things very, very clearly and at a nice slow pace, truths in your life are bubbling up. And revealed to you piece by piece," explained [study participant John] Saul. The participants all say they've changed and are better able to face the future. Wolfson hopes the drug may one day be available to other patients as a legally accepted remedy.