California scientists are experimenting whether Ecstasy drug can alleviate anxiety for terminally ill patients.

Ecstasy is a common name for illegal psychoactive drug. Over the next year in Santa Cruz the drug will be tried on those patients who are suffering from life threatening diseases like cancer ad may live around for nine months.

Brad Burge, a spokesman for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies in Santa Cruz, said that the double blind trial will be subjected to randomly giving either full dose or less of MDMA.

An active placebo dose is equal to 30 milligrams and a full dose is equal to 125 milligram.

Burge said, “Our hypothesis is that something is happening with MDMA that makes psychotherapy easier. So with a lower dose of MDMA in the active placebo, it might fool the subject or the therapist. And by giving people the option of following up with another half dose, it just extends the window for therapy rather than making it more intense.”

Federal law has banned the psychoactive MDMA drug for decades.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has not yet commented on the drug, but according to Burge certification of permission has been received from federal agency.

Burge said the main focus of the illegal drug is to find whether the patients suffering from debilitating anxiety, depression or fear because of the diagnoses can get some peace during ecstasy influenced psychotherapy sessions.

Dr. Philip Wolfson, principal investigator of the trail said, the experience of the drug lasts up to five hours and it can be transformationally potent under controlled settings with a pair of trained therapists.

Dr. Wolfson said, “It’s a substance that supports deep, meaningful and rapidly effective psychotherapy.”

The US and FDA regulations do not permit any agency to disclose any information about those drugs which are currently being studied or being developed.