Sometimes they come back. Psilocybin (magic ‘mushrooms’), mescaline (from the Peyote cactus), DMT, LSD, ecstasy and ketamine, psychedelic substances branded as ‘drugs’ and banned in the last century, in the third millennium have returned to the spotlight of science as possible medications for mental illnesses. Rick Doblin, president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (Maps), explains this in the volume ‘Essential Guide to Psychedelic Renaissance’. And this is confirmed by the fact that the Italian Society of Psychiatry (Sip) has decided to dedicate an entire session of the national congress to this theme with which in Verona, at the Palazzo della Gran Guardia, it is currently celebrating its first 150 years of life. We need “caution”, they say, but “the therapeutic potential is enormous”.
Studies
Thanks to the growing amount of experimental studies promoted by prestigious scientific institutions – from Johns Hopkins University to New York University, from the University of California in Los Angeles to the University of New Mexico, from Imperial College of London to the Psychiatric University Hospital of Zurich or at the Hospital Sau Pau of Barcelona, lists the Sip – an opening of the European, American, English and Australian regulatory agencies towards a therapeutic use of substances that have long been banned from any type of experimentation. The development of neuroscience, the use of rigorous research methodologies, as well as the interest of public opinion and industry, seem to specialists to be equally elements of hope.
“After a very long and strange journey, psychedelics may finally be back to stay,” Doblin says. “These molecules, banned in the 70s and 80s because they were considered to have a high potential for abuse and without appreciable medical value – states Liliana Dell’Osso, president of Sip – with the new millennium they have returned to the center of scientific interest, remaining however, balanced between those who cautiously slow down and distance themselves from the mistakes of the past and those who instead, with enthusiastic tones, push forward, glimpsing an enormous therapeutic potential”. But “as always – underlines Emi Bondi, outgoing president of Sip – the truth lies in the middle”.
“There are numerous studies in the literature on classic psychedelics”, highlights Bondi. “In particular for psilocybin, which would be effective in resistant depression, a condition that affects around 30% of all those who suffer from major depression. With a quick calculation, knowing that the prevalence of this disease is around 6% of the population, we could be referring to 2% of the general population who could benefit from this type of treatment”, calculates the expert.
“The effect is immediate and must be supported by a psychological intervention, and the administration must be carried out in a healthcare environment – explains Giancarlo Cerveri, head of Psychiatry in Lodi and responsible for the session on psychedelics at the Sip congress – The benefits persist for months and psilocybin does not appear to be at risk of addiction. The mechanisms by which it acts are completely different from traditional antidepressants – the specialist then explains – ketamine has been widely used for resistant depression and one of its derivatives. (esketamine) is already used in Italy for this type of disorder. Finally, there is a complex clinical condition for treatment, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in which patients remain tied to symptoms strongly linked to the event. traumatic”, in which “the use of an empathogen such as Mdma (better known as ecstasy), associated with psychotherapy, seems to produce very promising results. In Australia, the treatment of some patients with this molecule has already begun.”
History
The resurrection of psychedelics has been underway for a while. Sip summarizes its scientific rediscovery in some regulatory steps: in 2017 and 2019 the American drug agency FDA identified MDMA as a possible experimental therapy for Ptsd and psilocybin for resistant depression; in June 2023 the Food and Drug Administration itself comes out with a guide for the drug industry entitled ‘Psychedelics Drugs Considerations for Clinical Investigations’; in July 2023 the Australian regulatory body authorizes the use of MDMA and psilocybin for medical purposes; a section on psychedelics included in the guidelines of the European Medicines Agency EMA for resistant depression is dated September 2023; in December 2023 the submission to the FDA to change the classification and start MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD; in January 2024 the first EU Grant for clinical research on assisted therapy with psychedelics.
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