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

Rick Doblin, founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), is exploring the healing power of compounds such as LSD, Ecstasy and magic mushrooms in treating mental health disorders in patients, amid anti-drug campaigns that criminalise the use of such substances.

The first Phase 3 clinical trial of Doblin's study conducted with psychedelic-assisted therapy, found that MDMA paired with counseling brought substantial relief to patients with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, the New York Times reported. Nature Medicine is also expected to publish results of his lab study on MDMA soon - which could be a major push for Doblin in his fight for mainstream acceptance of psychedelics.

This comes weeks after the New England Journal of Medicine study highlighted that Psilocybin - the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, may have antidepressant properties. Excited scientists and researchers have said it's only a matter of time before the Food and Drug Administration approves the use of psychoactive compounds in therapies.

The use of psychedelic drugs has been demonised and criminalised for decades and the stigma attached is a major hindrance affecting advancement in the field - exploring the use of the compounds in treading PSTD, depression and others.

Doblin’s organisation, MAPS, is primarily focused on getting approval for drug-assisted therapies and promoting them around the globe. But it is also pushing for the legalisation of the drugs for adult recreational use with strict licensing requirements.

Several studies have concluded classic psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin are not addictive and cause no organ damage even when consumed in high doses. They also dismissed the popular belief of Ecstasy leaves holes in users’ brains.

However, most scientists believed that more research is needed on other possible side effects — like how the drugs might affect those with cardiac problems.

Top universities in the US are interested in setting up psychedelic research centers, and investors are pouring millions of dollars into start-ups. With states and cities in the US relaxing restrictions around the drugs, researchers see hope for federal decriminalisation for therapeutic and recreational use.

“Given the mental health crisis in this country, there’s great curiosity and hope about psychedelics and a recognition that we need new therapeutic tools,” said Michael Pollan, whose best-selling book on psychedelics, “How to Change Your Mind,” has helped destigmatise the drugs in the three years since it was published.

WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS

Even as researchers push for psychedelic-assisted therapies, the commercialisation of the drug along with the movement to eradicate existing prohibition, could prove risky for those with severe mental disorders and derail the mission for acceptance in the mainstream.

Dr. Michael P. Bogenschutz, a professor of psychiatry who runs Center for Psychedelic Medicine at NYU Langone Health, said most of the studies have been conducted with relatively small numbers of people who were carefully examined. People with schizophrenia and other serious mental problems were not a part of the study.

However, this also raises the question of adverse impacts if the drugs are taken without supervision by many people.

Johns Hopkins, Yale, the University of California, Berkeley, and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York are among the institutions that have recently set up psychedelic research divisions or are planning to do so, with financing from private donors.

Scientists are conducting studies on whether psychedelics can be used in treating depression, autism and opioid addiction, anorexia and the anxieties experienced by the terminally ill.

“We have to be careful not to overpromise, but these are fantastically interesting compounds with numerous possible uses,” said Roland R. Griffiths founder of the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins said.