The future is trippy? FDA launches its first-ever study on magic mushrooms and psychedelics

The FDA is launching its first-ever approved study on natural magic mushrooms

What could this mean for the future of psychedelics?

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just given the green light for Filament Health Corporation, a clinical-stage company in the natural psychedelics development business, to conduct a study into the effects of certain psychedelics.

Filament has already developed around 70 strains of psychedelic mushrooms for research purposes and was able to raise a whopping $2.5 million to further study the use of psychedelics through stabilized formulas. These would offer patients the benefits of better bioavailability, consistency, and a faster onset of action, as well as a reduction in side effects.

This is the first FDA-approved study on psychedelics in its history. The first phase of the study is being conducted at the University of California, San Francisco’s Translational Psychedelic Research Program (TrPR) under the direction of Dr. Joshua Woolley take place. Another interesting milestone for this study is that it will also be the first FDA-approved study to use natural mushroom-derived psilocybin and psilocin, while previous studies only used synthetic mushrooms, according to a press release.

The study intends to examine 3 of Filament’s natural drug candidates that have been naturally extracted and then stabilized. Researchers intend to analyze the effects of psilocybin and psilocin when administered orally and sublingually in healthy adults.

“We are incredibly proud to have achieved this milestone in an FDA-cleared study,” said Benjamin Lightburn, CEO and co-founder of Filament. “We look forward to expanding scientific understanding of the potential benefits and uses of natural psychedelic medicines and making these treatments available to those in need,” he adds.

There is no doubt about it: from the news just mentioned, psychedelics are now being taken seriously by advocacy groups, big pharma, and investors because of their potential to replace numerous pharmaceutical drugs in the years to come.

The psychedelic revolution is upon us and the movement to legalize, or at least decriminalize, what were once known as club drugs – like MDMA, magic mushrooms and LSD – for their powerful therapeutic potential. It’s also the same movement that helped decriminalize — and eventually destigmatize — cannabis in recent history.

What will all this mean for the future of psychedelics? Would we one day have access to a wide range of regulated psychedelics like we do with pharmaceutical drugs?

Recently, the FDA granted MDMA and psilocybin Breakthrough Therapy designations, meaning they already recognize the ability of both substances to treat a range of serious medical conditions. This designation means that they fund more research on psychedelics that is required for drug approval. Back in 2019, they approved esketamine for use in treatment-resistant depression, while other researchers are working on studies to seek FDA approval for MDMA and psilocybin to treat major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, two of the most challenging mental illnesses of our time.

Thanks to the work of many advocacy groups and research groups, notably the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), the Drug Policy Alliance and many others, who have made significant contributions to the decriminalization of drugs other than cannabis.

Certainly at least some of your own friends, if not yourself included, have already tried psychedelics for experimentation. Yes, the health benefits are real, but the vigorous exercise isn’t actually motivated by money. But just like cannabis, there is money to be made from psychedelics, although the battle for full legalization is still ongoing. We must fight to destroy what the failed war on drugs has done – leaving us with only stigma and difficulties in accessing these medicines a few years ago. However, more and more organizations are focusing on the importance of medical research to break through the other side. Science will always win, at least in the end, and prove the argument is correct: natural remedies like psychedelics and cannabis work and are far better than pharmaceutical drugs.

We still have a long way to go: Even if the FDA approves the use of psychedelics, we still have to deal with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which will certainly mean other hurdles. And even if the FDA approves psychedelics, the DEA must re-examine them, and physicians will not be able to prescribe psychedelics until the DEA changes the timeline for these drugs.

Thankfully, several cities in the United States have already taken steps: either by decriminalizing and legalizing it, reducing penalties, setting up task forces to study its medicinal uses, or proactively enacting legislation. Oregon made history in November 2020 by becoming the first state to eliminate all criminal penalties for illegal drugs, including all psychedelic substances, as well as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and oxycodone. A very bold step indeed.

Santa Cruz and Oakland soon placed psilocybin and other entheogenic plants like mescaline, iboga, and ayahuasca at the lowest priority of law enforcement, followed by the District of Columbia, Denver, Ann Arbor, Northampton, Cambridge, Somerville, Seattle, and others, who passed similar laws .

These are all massive signs of progress, although legally it will be some time before psychedelics are as widely used as cannabis is today. However, we can expect more developments in the near future – which is crucial for millions of people across the country who are struggling with difficult-to-treat mental disorders. Let’s just hope our lawmakers give it the priority it deserves.

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