Treating soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with the party drug ecstasy effectively cures the condition within weeks, according to a new study.

Scientists found that administering the illegal MDMA improved veterans’ receptiveness to traditional psychotherapy.

Published in the Lancet Psychiatry, the study involved 22 military veterans, three firefighters and a police officer.

All had been diagnosed with PTSD resulting from events they had experienced or witnessed during their service.

Participants were given doses of the drug that ranged between 30mg, 75mg and 125mg.

On average, people in the two higher dose groups experienced greater decreases in PTSD symptom severity than those in the low-dose group.

After two treatment sessions, 86 per cent of participants in the 75mg group, 58 per cent in the 125mg group and 29 per cent in the 30mg group no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD.

Researchers believe exposure to the drug may improve the effect of psychotherapy by engendering feelings of insight and empathy.

MDMA is the main active constituent of ecstasy, a recreational drug that induces feelings of euphoria and enhances sensory perception.