Decades Ago, MDMA Was Used in Marriage Counseling

...Naranjo's partner, Alexander Shulgin, synthesized the more commonly known MDMA, which proved to be less hallucinogenic and less toxic than its original formation.

Shulgin synthesized a variety of phenethylamines (of which MDMA is a member) and tryptophans, tested them on himself, then wrote detailed experimental procedures, including his own subjective responses to what he had made.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PiHKAL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TiHKAL

I've read both those books. The way he went about those syntheses and tests on himself and managed to write such coherent details about the experiences really blew me away. It's really too bad what happened with him and the DEA because of his research. It's also too bad he couldn't finish the research he was working on before his health declined.

I am reminded of this[0] piece, of when heroin was available by prescription in the UK, prior to the war on drugs.

[0]: https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/yw4nnk/when-boots-prescri...

Interesting, guess there's more truth to fiction than I suspected. There was an episode of Mad Men where a major character and his wife take LSD during counseling.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_Away_Places_(Mad_Men)