Industry considers concerns about masking in MDMA trials

Not for the first time, experts have expressed concern about whether randomized controlled trials (RCTs) can be conducted with psychedelics. A placebo for a drug with such a powerful effect would be difficult to create. But placebos are needed to prove that a medication works because it works, not because the patient thinks it will (the so-called “placebo effect”). To avoid the placebo effect misguiding results, participants are “blinded” as to whether they are taking the placebo or the study drug. (In “double-blind” studies, the researchers don't know, either.)