Background on Shye Klein-Weinstein and the Nova Festival Attack
As artillery from the ongoing clashes in Gaza echoes in the distance, Shye Klein-Weinstein, a 28-year-old photographer from Canada, walks slowly through the memorial honoring nearly 400 victims of the Hamas attack on the Nova festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Klein-Weinstein, who arrived in Israel four months before the attack, recalls the events of that fateful day. Among his memories are details about the festival, including the fact that he consumed MDMA (ecstasy) that day.
Preliminary Study Findings from the University of Haifa
Despite being deeply affected by the tragedy, preliminary analyses from a study conducted by the University of Haifa suggest that MDMA consumed by some individuals prior to the attack may have acted as a trauma buffer.
“I went to Nova with my cousin and several friends… It was my first music festival,” Klein-Weinstein recounts, recalling that each person took half or a quarter of a pill.
Key Study Details
- The University of Haifa followed 657 Nova survivors, including those who consumed drugs and those who did not.
- Preliminary results indicate that individuals under the influence of MDMA showed “significantly better intermediate outcomes” compared to those affected by other substances or none at all.
- The study, recently accepted for publication in the journal *World Psychiatry*, found that the MDMA-consuming group reported more social interactions and better sleep quality post-event, which “reduced anxiety levels” and lessened the severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
“We knew nothing about how trauma develops when, during a traumatic attack or event, an individual is under the influence of substances like cannabis, alcohol, or psychedelic drugs such as LSD and MDMA,” explains Roee Admon, one of the study’s leading researchers.
Implications and Limitations
- Admon notes that while the findings are unique and unprecedented, MDMA did provide support to Nova festival survivors.
- However, the prevalence of PTSD remains extremely high among survivors.
- The study is limited by the “survivor bias,” as it does not account for those who perished in the attack.
“The Love Drug”
At the Nova memorial, Klein-Weinstein shares that he continues to grapple with trauma and is in therapy. He believes MDMA may have softened his symptoms but emphasizes that it did not make him or others invulnerable.
“My only concern was not being able to help my friends or something terrible happening to them, and feeling completely powerless—a horrendous feeling of lack of control,” he recalls.
Vered Atzmon-Meshulam, a trauma specialist and director of the Resilience Division at the Israeli disaster-response NGO Zaka, tells AFP that she is not surprised by the study’s findings, as previous research suggested MDMA could aid in treating PTSD.
“We need to move forward to the next phase, which includes treatments using psychedelic substances to genuinely and broadly alleviate PTSD, not just for Nova attendees but for many others suffering from it,” she states.
