oh great.

The new cure for PTSD?

As combat veterans continue to trickle home, many face increasingly bleak futures. A study undertaken last year by the military found that 1 in 8 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)—and this percentage may well have risen since then, with the increasing frequency of attacks in Iraq.

The study found that more than half of PTSD sufferers don't seek out mental health assistance. Even more disturbing, however, is reporter Mark Benjamin's report in Salon today, noting that the premier military medical facility, Washington DC's Walter Reed Medical Center, is failing to provide adequate PTSD treatment, which has resulted in worsened conditions and even suicide among inpatient soldiers. The hospital is also charging some wounded veterans hundreds a dollars a month for their meals there, all while the Army prevents soldiers with PTSD from receiving adequate disability payments.

But hey, things may be finally looking up for those shell-shocked combat veterans struggling with terrifying flashbacks, debilitating insomnia, paranoia, and urges to inflict violence upon others. The Food and Drug Administration has recently authorized soldiers to participate in a clinical study on the use of ecstasy in treating PTSD—sure to work wonders on the mental damage caused by witnessing death or having killed others in combat.

- Lygia Navarro