MDMA, magic mushrooms could be the hottest entry in psychiatry, researchers have hope

Rick Doblin, founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Hallucinogens (MAPS), cures compounds such as LSD, ecstasy, and magic mushrooms in the treatment of patients with mental illness in an anti-drug campaign that criminalizes their use. We are investigating the power of such substances.

The first phase 3 clinical trial of Dobrin’s study in psychedelic supportive care found that MDMA in combination with counseling provided substantial relief for patients with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. , The New York Times reported. Nature Medicine is also expected to soon publish the results of his laboratory work on MDMA-which could be a major impetus for Doblin in his battle for mainstream acceptance of psychedelics. there is.

This will come in a few weeks A study by the New England Journal of Medicine emphasized that psilocybin, a psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, may have antidepressant properties... Excited scientists and researchers say it’s only a matter of time before the Food and Drug Administration approves the use of psychotropic drugs in treatment.

The use of psychedelic drugs has been demonized and criminalized for decades. The stigma given is a major obstacle to progress in this area. We are exploring the use of compounds in the treatment of PSTD and depression.

MAPS, Doblin’s organization, is primarily focused on obtaining drug therapy approvals and promoting them worldwide. However, it also promotes the legalization of drugs for adult recreational purposes with strict licensing requirements.

Some studies have concluded that classic psychedelics such as LSD and psychedelics are non-addictive and do not damage organs at high doses. They also dismissed the general belief that ecstasy leaves a hole in the user’s brain.

However, most scientists believed that further research was needed on other possible side effects, such as how the drug affects people with heart problems.

Top US universities are interested in setting up a psychedelic research center, and investors are spending millions of dollars on start-ups. Drug regulations have been relaxed in US states and cities, and researchers are looking forward to federal decriminalization for therapeutic and recreational purposes.

“Given the country’s mental health crisis, we recognize that we have great curiosity and hope for psychedelics and we need new treatment tools,” said the best-selling book on psychedelics, “How to Change Your Mind.” Michael Paulan said. Three years after it was published, it blames the drug.

What are your concerns

Even if researchers are promoting psychedelic supportive care, commercialization of the drug, along with a move to eradicate the existing ban, can be dangerous for people with severe mental illness and upset the mission of mainstream acceptance. There is sex.

Dr. Michael P. Bogenschutz, a professor of psychiatry who runs the Psychedelic Medical Center at NYU Langone Health, said most of the research was done by a relatively small number of carefully examined people. People with schizophrenia and other serious mental problems were not part of the study.

However, this also raises the issue of the negative effects of taking the drug without the supervision of many people.

Johns Hopkins, Yale, University of California, Berkeley, and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York are one of the institutions that recently established or are planning to do so, and are funded by private donors. I am.

Scientists are studying whether psychedelics can be used to treat depression, autism, opioid addiction, loss of appetite, and the anxiety experienced by people with end-stage disabilities.

Roland R. Griffith, founder of the Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Consciousness Research Center, said: