Can psychedelics treat mental health conditions?

Psychedelics as a treatment for mental health conditions

Psychedelic drugs have been a topic of interest in the field of psychiatry since the early 20th century. It began with exploring the possibility of whether known psychedelics like mescaline or peyote could produce psychosis-like effects. Eventually, scientists began to wonder if psychedelics could help them understand the underlying source of psychiatric disorders. In 1943, LSD was discovered, and the interest in psychedelics as treatment evolved.

LSD was a transformative discovery, and by 1951, more than 100 articles on LSD had appeared in medical journals. Ten years later, the number increased to more than 1,000. However, as part of an effort to fight crime, in 1968, President Johnson signed a bill that made the possession or sale of “harmful drugs” like LSD illegal.

Today, LSD isn’t the only psychedelic being considered as a treatment for mental health conditions. And many believe psychedelics should be either decriminalized or even legalized. Currently, Oregon is the only state in the U.S. to have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of LSD.

Expanding beyond LSD

Despite an almost nationwide ban on LSD, exploring psychedelics as a treatment to change a person’s awareness continues today. One of the most common ingredients studied is psilocybin, a natural ingredient found in so-called magic mushrooms. Psilocybin is known to create hallucinogenic effects, and it can also alter a person’s perception of time and space, and/or cause extreme mood changes.

A 2022 John Hopkins study focusing on a pharmacological class of compounds that include psilocybin discovered that they could offer a promising therapeutic approach. In general, psilocybin, when used with great care, has shown promise for treating a variety of mental health disorders and addictions.

For their study, researchers focused on people with a history of depression. The majority of participants had also used antidepressants. After two treatments of psilocybin approximately two weeks apart and one year of follow-ups, researchers reported that all patients experienced a tremendous decrease in depression symptoms throughout the year. This discovery could reduce or eliminate a person’s need to depend on daily medication to treat their depression. Instead, one or two psilocybin treatments a year could potentially do the trick.

Psychedelics to treat cancer patients

Because psychedelics have successfully treated patients predisposed to mental health conditions, oncology researchers wondered if they could also treat situational mental health occurrences, like a cancer diagnosis.

In 2016, researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine announced that a one-time, single-dose treatment of psilocybin, combined with psychotherapy, appears to provide “significant improvements in emotional and existential distress in people with cancer.” And the effects of that one-time treatment remained when they followed up at 6.5 months.

In 2022, they announced the results of their long-term follow-up on some of those same patients. They followed up at both 3 and 4.5 years after the single treatment. Follow-up included inquiring about the patient’s symptoms of anxiety, depression, hopelessness, demoralization and death anxiety. At the 4.5-year mark, participants said they continued to experience reduced feelings of anxiety, depression, hopelessness, demoralization and death anxiety. In addition, roughly 60 to 80 percent of participants met the criteria of experiencing a positive response to antidepressant or antianxiety medication.

Further, between 71 to 100 percent of patients credited their psilocybin treatment with positive life changes. They reported it was one of the most “personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their life.”

What’s Next

Research continues to provide promising results for psychedelics as a treatment for mood and anxiety disorders globally. In fact, “drug tourism” and psychedelic retreats continue to rise as travelers head to locations where psychedelics aren’t illegal to treat a variety of symptoms. These retreats are becoming more common in Jamaica, Canada and the Netherlands.

However, experts caution that psychedelics must be given by medical professionals, preferably in a clinical trial setting. And, because taking these drugs can result in long-term mental health issues, including psychosis, many feel regulation and oversite are still needed.

Not everyone is on board with the idea of using psychedelics to treat mental health conditions. Many researchers believe more work should be done before psychedelics are widely prescribed to patients. They’d like to know more about how they work and interact with other medications, and why some work well for certain patients while others don’t. Researchers do believe that when the time comes, doctors will need to tailor any psychedelic treatment to a specific patient, just as it is with current pharmaceutical interventions.

In the meantime, scientists continue to conduct more detailed experiments and create different combinations of psychedelic treatments. The hope is that these studies will help better pinpoint the benefits and risks of psychedelic treatments for a variety of symptoms and co-occurring conditions. And once they prove their effectiveness, education will be key to reducing the stigma and convincing practitioners to use approved psychedelics as a treatment for mental health conditions.

Start earning extra income today

Contributing to the All Global Circle panel offers extra income and an opportunity to advance your medical field, all in exchange for a small portion of your day. You can access a $50 bonus (or the equivalent in your country’s currency) just for registering and completing the All Global Circle validation process. And remember, you’ll get this signup bonus regardless of whether you qualify for a study. Sign up today.