Psychedelic medicines are expanding into the public consciousness
Magic mushrooms are just the start
By Natasha Loder: Health-policy editor, The Economist
THE COMING YEAR will see a number of milestones in the emerging era of psychedelic medicines. The recreational drug MDMA will complete a second phase-3 trial for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If this trial confirms the findings of the first, from 2021, then in 2023 MDMA will be considered by America’s Food and Drug Administration for approval. MAPS, a public-benefit corporation, has so far shown that three doses of MDMA, along with a course of therapy over 18 weeks, can deliver a significant reduction in the symptoms of PTSD.
It is not known how long the FDA will take to consider the drug, or whether it will approve it. But a decision will be expedited because the current treatments available for PTSD are so limited. An approval for PTSD treatment would also prompt MAPS to expand research to support the use of the drug for other indications, says Berra Yazar-Klosinski, its chief scientific officer. These might include eating and anxiety disorders.
