Since its initial synthesis by the German pharmaceutical company Merck in 1912, the drug 3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine (MDMA) — better known by the street terms "ecstasy" or "molly" — has lived many lives.

From its brief time being tested as a top-secret truth serum in US Army trials to its dual uses as a therapeutic tool and party drug during the 1960s and 70s, the compound's propensity for making users feel profoundly empathic and euphoric. It was banned by the US government in 1985, but that didn't put much of a damper in its recreational use — though it did stall further research until recent decades, when scientists again began to look into its potential to benefit mental health.

And most recently, the uber-wealthy conformists of Silicon Valley have jumped on the drug as well

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