Causes.com
| 4.21.22
Study Finds Psilocybin Therapy Can Help with Depression - Should Legalization Be Considered?
Do you support legalizing research on, or the use of, psychedelic drugs?
What’s the story?
- A recent small-scale study found that people undergoing psilocybin-assisted therapy experienced changes in brain patterns associated with depression and reported improvement in symptoms.
- Ongoing research has shown that psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, has shown significant promise in helping to treat certain mental health conditions.
What does the study say?
- The study, published in Nature Medicine on April 11, used advanced neuroimaging technology to monitor the brain activity of 43 participants with severe depression before and after receiving two doses of psilocybin.
- It found that participants who received the alternative therapy (as opposed to conventional antidepressants) showed heightened neural connectivity, a pattern that “starkly contrasts with the abnormally rigid and segregated depressed brain”.
- Participants also reported rapid and sustained improvement in their symptoms.
The big picture
- Research on psychedelics — like LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA — is still fairly new, as decades of strict regulations have limited research ability. Studies in the 1950s and 60s were largely cut after the class of drugs was federally outlawed during the Nixon administration.
- Today, they are still currently classified as Schedule I narcotics under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning they have been designated to have high abuse risk and no currently accepted medical applications. Other drugs under this designation include heroin and marijuana. However, risk of fatal overdose or physical dependence to certain psychedelics are very small compared to other Substance I drugs like heroin, or even more socially accepted drugs like alcohol.
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated psilocybin a “breakthrough therapy” in 2018 and 2019, to help advance the research and development of related drugs to treat major depressive disorder. This status is typically granted upon request from drug companies, when evidence suggests a drug may provide an exceptional improvement over already available treatments.
- Instances of abuse can still happen in psychedelic therapy, even in federally-sanctioned clinical trials. There is still little research into the minority who experience negative effects from taking psychedelics, but funding is also being sought for studies on the subject.
What’s next
- Military veterans suffering from PTSD, anxiety, depression, and addiction have become leading advocates to persuade lawmakers to legalize psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.
- In recent years, bipartisan bills legalizing research, allowing drug usage under certain conditions and supervision, and decriminalizing drug possession more broadly, have been introduced or passed in more than a dozen states and some cities.
- In 2020, Oregon became the first state to legalize psilocybin for medical treatment under supervision. The measure also decriminalized possession of small amounts of some hard drugs.
- Texas approved a bill to fund research on psychedelics including MDMA, ketamine, and psilocybin for treating PTSD last year, there was bipartisan approval for $1 million to fund alternative therapies for veterans in Maryland, and a bill from Republican representatives in Oklahoma that would legalize research is now under consideration in the Senate.
What do you think?
Do you support legalizing research on, or the use of, psychedelic drugs?
-Casey Dawson
(Photo credit: Pixabay)
The Latest
-
IT: 🛢️ New Vermont measure could charge Big Oil for climate damages, and... Do you think Trump is guilty?Welcome to Friday, May 10th, friends... Vermont could be one of the first states to hold Big Oil accountable for the damages read more... -
Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand in Trump Hush Money TrialUpdated May 9, 2024, 5:00 p.m. EST Adult film star Stormy Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, spent two days on the stand read more... Law Enforcement -
Vermont Measure to Charge Big Oil for Climate DamagesWhat’s the story? Vermont is expected to become one of the first states to hold Big Oil accountable for the damages caused by read more... Environment -
IT: Trump's 2016 'deny, deny, deny' campaign strategy, and... How can you help the civilians of Ukraine?Welcome to Wednesday, May 8th, weekenders... As Trump's hush money trial enters it's third week, the 2016 campaign strategy of read more...
Climate & Consumption
Health & Hunger
Politics & Policy
Safety & Security
Certainly the use of natural remedies to treat common medical issues should be CONSIDERED for authorized use. It does not appear that all of the potential side-effects, adverse reactions, potential for abuse, reactions to other commonly prescribed medicines or even safe dosing are clearly known.
From the people who have safely used psilocybin and benefited from that experience either in medically controlled tests or even recreationally it is ckear that some people benfit greatly or at least not harmed recreationally.
The question that needs to answered is whether or not it is safe for all people under any circumstances and if not, what specifically are the counter indications.
I tend to think about psilocybin in the same context as alcohol use or smoking in that it is their risk to tske. I am not completely certain that that view is correct, particularly for medically prescribed treatment of people who may suffer from other conditions that could be aggravated.
it certainly should be considered for medical treatment but not used generally without due diligence and careful validation.
See Leslie's excellent detailed summary of some of work underway to evaluate and validate the use of psilocybin as a useful abd safe medication.
Psilocybin is a psychoactive compound that can alter thoughts and perceptions and can cause visual and auditory hallucinations at high doses is still at a research stage. Research is being done using micro doses to gain benefit but avoid side effects. Legislative changes should be to limited to changes needed for research.
Upside: feeling like time has slowed down, sense of euphoria, seeing colors more vividly, thinking unusual thoughts, seeing stationary objects appear to move
Downside: negative reactions, such as anxiety, panic attacks, paranoia, feelings of fear and depression, nausea, and numbness.
Johns Hopkins has been leading the way in research of potential uses with the 1st authorization to research in humans, and 1st federal grant. A successful phase 3 study for a proven use (depression, PTSD, smoking cessation, etc) is needed re-categorized from a schedule I drug—one with no known medical potential—to a schedule IV drug such as prescription sleep aids, but with tighter control to open up research to other organizations & people.
Johns Hopkins Research efforts
2000 US regulatory approval (IND) to research with psychedelics in healthy volunteers (phase 1 studies) who had no previous experience with psychedelics.
2006-2022 Publushed studies proof of concept studies (phase 2a) for major depressive disorder, decreases in suicide, palliative care, alcohol misuse, ptsd, mood disorders, Alzheimer’s, seizure, trauma, pharmacology, dose-ranging
2008 risk identification (overwhelming distress during drug action (‘bad trip’))
2014 Smoking cessation
2016 Anxiety in Cancer patients
2018 Need Successful completion of a phase
3 study for schedule change I to IV
2019 Alcohol abuse studies
2020 Ego control studies
2021 1st federal grant smoking cessation
Functional doctors in psychiatry like Anen clinic have also been reviewing research:
2021 study in JAMA Psychiatry involving 24 people with major depressive disorder, found that psilocybin-assisted therapy produced “large, rapid, and sustained antidepressant effects.”
2021 in The New England Journal of Medicine on people with moderate to severe depression showed that treatment with psilocybin was equally effective as treatment with a common antidepressant (escitalopram, brand name Lexapro).
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/research/psychedelics-research.html
https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-psychedelics-in-psychiatry/
https://hopkinspsychedelic.org/publications
https://files.csp.org/Psilocybin/HopkinsHallucinogenSafety2008.pdf
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/magic_mushrooms_help_longtime_smokers_quit
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/hallucinogenic_drug_psilocybin_eases_existential_anxiety_in_people_with_life_threatening_cancer
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269881119845793?journalCode=jopa
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/research-story-tip-psychedelic-drug-psilocybin-tamps-down-brains-ego-center
Ask Boomers, I believe they are far more likely to have 1st hand experience with magic mushrooms than any generation since.
My generation (and that of my representatives) were strongly influenced by fried egg commercials, a war on drugs, and zero tolerance laws.
Unlike what is spewed out of the mouth of Manchin, those of us struggling under massive income inequality do not spend vast sums of their "disposable income" on drugs.
They spend it on housing, food, and utilities. During times of actual income relief, we occasionally spend money on things like soccer cleats and school clothes.
LBMs were a big fad in the late 70's early 80's, and lots of people, young and old wound up in hospitals or died. I believe some college is already studying to possible uses of these LBMs by now. I guess you could add to college support.
If there is a natural remedy that can help the pain and suffering of living beings, it should be empirically researched and if the remedy is effective, legalized. Legalization doesn't mean everyone can get their hands on it; it just means that it can be utilized in a controlled manner, ie. grown in a controlled manner, prescribed by doctors, age restrictions & so on.
Despite FDA granting Breakthrough Therapy status for psilocybin dose ranging studies for treatment-resistant depression (2018) in a multi-center Phase 2 dose ranging study (US, UK and Europe) and major depressive disorder (MDD) studies (2019) most of these studies are being conducted outside the US because of Psilocybin’s federal status as a Schedule I controlled substance instead of Schedule IV like sleeping pills constricts research in the US. In order to change from Schedule I (no medical use) to Schedule IV (highly controlled use like sleeping pills) there needs to be published study results which there are.
1) JAMA Psychiatry (2021) 24 people with major depressive disorder, found that psilocybin-assisted therapy produced “large, rapid, and sustained antidepressant effects.”
2) New England Journal of Medicine (2021) people with moderate to severe depression showed that treatment with psilocybin was equally effective as treatment with a common antidepressant (escitalopram, brand name Lexapro).
Substances can be rescheduled through three legal pathways with legislative being the preferred way but precedence does exist for executive & judicial pathways.
1) Legislative. Congress can rescheduled psilocybin by amending the CSA using the precedence set by the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) cleared by the House Judiciary Committee as the evidence supporting psilocybin’s efficacy and low abuse potential is at least as strong as the data regarding cannabis, the legislative pathway should be a viable option.
2) Administrative. The CSA gives the federal attorney general power to schedule and reschedule substances or remove them from the controlled substances list through DEA or via presidential executive order compelling the DEA to reschedule psilocybin, or members of the public or government officials, could petition the DEA to act. While DEA & FDA approval are separate, the DEA usually requires FDA-approved therapies containing THC and DEA has denied several petitions to reschedule cannabis and would likely deny similar requests regarding psilocybin.
3) Judicial. Sue the DEA after it denies a scheduling petition like was done with cannabis providing a roadmap (review standards) for reviewing a petition and evaluating currently accepted use.
Johns Hopkins has been leading the way in research the 1st authorization human studies (IND), and 1st federal grant.
Johns Hopkins Research Timeline:
2000 US regulatory approval (IND) to research with psychedelics in healthy volunteers (phase 1 studies) who had no previous experience with psychedelics.
2006-2022 Publushed studies proof of concept studies (phase 2a) for major depressive disorder, decreases in suicide, palliative care, alcohol misuse, ptsd, mood disorders, Alzheimer’s, seizure, trauma, pharmacology, dose-ranging
2008 risk identification (overwhelming distress during drug action (‘bad trip’))
2014 Smoking cessation
2016 Anxiety in Cancer patients
2018 FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy status to COMPASS Pathways for treatment-resistant depression in a multi-center Phase 2 dose ranging study (US, UK and Europe).
2019 FDA granted psilocybin therapy a Breakthrough Therapy designation to accelerate studies to test efficacy in treating major depressive disorder (MDD).
2019 Alcohol abuse studies
2020 Ego control studies
2021 1st federal grant smoking cessation
Functional doctors in psychiatry like Amen clinic have also been reviewing research:
2021 study in JAMA Psychiatry involving 24 people with major depressive disorder, found that psilocybin-assisted therapy produced “large, rapid, and sustained antidepressant effects.”
2021 in The New England Journal of Medicine on people with moderate to severe depression showed that treatment with psilocybin was equally effective as treatment with a common antidepressant (escitalopram, brand name Lexapro).
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-strategy-for-rescheduling-psilocybin/
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/research/psychedelics-research.html
https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-psychedelics-in-psychiatry/
https://hopkinspsychedelic.org/publications
https://files.csp.org/Psilocybin/HopkinsHallucinogenSafety2008.pdf
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/magic_mushrooms_help_longtime_smokers_quit
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/hallucinogenic_drug_psilocybin_eases_existential_anxiety_in_people_with_life_threatening_cancer
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269881119845793?journalCode=jopa
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/research-story-tip-psychedelic-drug-psilocybin-tamps-down-brains-ego-center
https://newatlas.com/science/psilocybin-major-depression-mdd-usona-breakthrough-therapy-fda/
Another subject not on my concern list. Is there just one employee at @causes? Is anyone out there that will fix and/or address our concerns and needs? I don't think I have ever witnessed a site or app that could care less about their users request or input.
IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?!?!?!
I'm on the fence with this one. I can see where it may have some benefits, but I would be more concerned about treating mild cases and the long term affects they may have. If we're just doping people up so they truly don't get the help they need, that would be wrong
I see no way this is remarkably different than other natural or man-made drugs. There is no logical reason to treat it any differently.
Causes the gop is already high on these mushrooms ! There are more pressing issues to expose the continued barrage against our democracy. Why aren't you headlining those for discussion and comment?
'This the best we've got?': Former DC police officer reacts to GOP lawmakers
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/04/23/michael-fanone-kevin-mccarthy-trump-january-6-tape-acostanr-vpx.cnn
I support further research into the effects of psylocibin on the brain and on human health, which may include supervised use in willing patients. We still don't know a lot about this drug since it's been illegal for decades, but there is some promising evidence that it may help people with mental illness. I don't think we're ready for widespread use, and certainly not for recreational legalization, but research seems like a good idea. We constantly hear there's a mental health crisis in this country, yet nobody is doing anything about it. This is a good start.
Legalize, or at least decriminalization of ALL drugs would make them safer and save our country a lot of money Legalizing would actually make money
Love the lighting of the 'shrooms!
Definitely! The research is solid. Psilocybin works to resolve resistant depression often with symptomatic improvement after the very first treatment. And it is much safer with fewer side-effects than the next most effective treatment for resistant depression--ECT-Electroshock Therapy. Blocking it use is stupid prejudice and completely unscientific.
Can Causes.com please start asking questions that are not always about Ukraine, immigration, or drugs? We've answered them already! Ask questions on the surge of labor unions, Abbott's border inflation stunt, and DeSantis' cancel culture of Disney! Or does Causes.com have a conservative bias now?
Legislators,
We need and urge your full support for the legalization of research on the use of s "psychedelic" drugs to treat psychiatric condition such as anxiety and depression, PTSD, etc.?
If research supports the effectivesness and relative safety of such substance, the safe uses of those substances are to be permited.
Seems like current research suggests a legitimate potential to help people who really need it. Let's at least relax the extreme attitude around these drugs so we can further research and potentially help many people.
"Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin, and you can’t remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could." ~ Steve Jobs
In this quote Jobs is talking about LSD, but psilocybin is very similar, and I think better in many ways. I do shrooms three or four times a year and it's something I take fairly seriously. It helps me to see the world as it is. CS Lewis talked about "the shadow lands". The idea that the world that we live in is just a tiny aspect of all that there is. For me psilocybin helps me see beyond the shadows.
And while shrooms are still very illegal, they're not particularly difficult to access. It is legal to buy spores, so I buy them online and grow my own. It's a fun little science project.
At this juncture, I support the research only, and nothing more until there are results as it relates to the effects.
Needs more research.
@causes, I can't recall the last time you ask a question that was pertinent enough for me to copy my reps on my reply.
This is why the Biden family corruption matters: Miranda Devine; Will Cain Podcast
https://www.facebook.com/111684338086085/videos/518320576424939/