Why Psychedelics?
Why now?
The resurgence of psychedelic research is occurring in the context of an enormous burden of untreated and refractory mental illness in the US and abroad. Classical psychedelics have yet to be approved for the treatment of any illness in the United States and are presently illegal (designated as ‘Schedule 1’ substances by the DEA). However, preliminary data suggests that psychedelic-assisted treatments may be effective for some of our most prevalent, debilitating, and fatal conditions. If ongoing research continues to show efficacy, there may be a public health imperative to advance our understanding and application of these treatments.
Below is a brief list of mental health conditions with significant consequence for individual and public health, and the corresponding evidence suggesting benefit from psychedelic-assisted treatments.
(Disclaimer: neither Stanford nor SPSG condones illicit substance use; all discussion of psychedelics on this website and in this group is in the context of sanctioned research)
Depression and anxiety are strong predictors for most medical illnesses and somatic symptoms
Niles & O'Donovan 2019
Lysergic acid diethylamide-assisted therapy in patients with anxiety with and without a life-threatening illness A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II study
Trial of Psilocybin versus Escitalopram for Depression
Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Classical psychedelics for the treatment of depression and anxiety: A systematic review
Effect size meta-analysis of psilocybin for symptoms of depression and anxiety
Psychedelics in the treatment of unipolar mood disorders: a systematic review (of studies from 1949 - 1973)
Meta-analysis of historic psychedelic trials for anxiety disorders (of studies from 1940 - 2000)
See also:
Psilocybin-assisted group therapy for demoralized older long-term AIDS survivor men: An open-label safety and feasibility pilot study
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
MDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of PTSD: study design and rationale for phase 3 trials based on pooled analysis of six phase 2 randomized controlled trials
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy ("MAP") projected to be cost-effective
MAP compares favorably to current FDA-approved treatments for PTSD
Improvements sustained at one year follow up post-treatment
Substance Use Disorder
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) for alcoholism: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Pilot Study of the 5-HT2AR Agonist Psilocybin in the Treatment of Tobacco Addiction, and Long-term Follow up
Johnson et al 2014 and Johnson et al 2016
Ketamine infusion and mindfulness to treat cocaine dependence and alcohol use disorder
Dakwar et al 2019 and Dakwar et al 2019
See also:
July 2020 update on psilocybin for smoking cessation (article quoting Dr. Matthew Johnson)
August 2019 update on psilocybin for cocaine dependence (Dr. Peter Hendricks at UAlabama)
Overview of current studies courtesy of Heffter Research Institute