MDMA and ketamine are among the drugs of greatest concern to law enforcement and judicial authorities. But one day, along with other substances banned today, such as hallucinogenic mushrooms, they could be used in the medical field to treat mental health. Or at least that’s what the members of Parea hope, the alliance of scientists, patient organizations and other stakeholders launched a few weeks ago in Brussels with a very specific goal: to prepare the field for the introduction of these drugs in the psychiatric field.
For some time, several trials have been launched around the world to treat diseases such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorders and even some addictions with MDMA and psychedelic drugs. The strategy may still seem surprising to the general public. In psychiatry, however, so-called psychedelic molecules seem to have gained great popularity. Clinical trial data is piling up, and Parea is trying to get the EU to evaluate the results and open the doors to psychedelic “drug” therapies.
But how do these therapies work? The idea is to use these substances in a controlled way to stimulate brain neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, which are responsible for regulating emotions. Then, with the help of psychologists and psychiatrists, patients are encouraged to deal with trauma, fears, and conditions such as hyperactivity, addiction or autism. In a long interview conducted by Politico, David Nutt, neuropsychopharmacologist at Imperial College London and president of Parea, explained where the research is and what the next developments could be.
First of all, explains the teacher, in recent years research has increased exponentially. If up to five years ago no company was involved in this, today there are 50 centers that study and carry out research on the medical use of psychedelics. Among the substances most used in these risks are methylenedioxymethamphetamine – commonly known as Mdma or ecstasy – and psilocybin, or hallucinogenic mushrooms. Others under development are lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD, or acid) and N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT).
The data, he explains, are very promising: “Our first study in resistant depression demonstrated that a single dose of psilocybin was the single most potent intervention ever in resistant depression. It seems quite clear that psilocybin works in depression, particularly in people whose drugs have not worked. “
According to Nutt, the first substance to be authorized will be MDMA. “It’s not really a psychedelic, but it’s an illegal drug with serotonergic activity. It is a planned drug 1 and will probably be the first to be placed on the market. He is in a second Phase 3 study with MAPS, a utility company. It took 30 years to raise the necessary funds to carry out these studies. The first Phase 3 study is almost certain to be very positive, and if the second is also positive, they will get clearance to use MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And this could happen by the end of next year ”.
Due to the illegality of the substance, studies have been extremely slowed down: “We need a license because the United Nations says so. Everything was blocked in 1971 with the United Nations Convention on Psychotropics. This is a 50-year anomaly in terms of thinking about science. There is now real pressure to try to accelerate research by eliminating these drugs from Annex 1 (which contains substances whose consumption poses a significant health risk and whose therapeutic importance is considered low to useless, ed. ) and inserting them in Annex 2 (which allows their use for therapeutic purposes, ed). If this happened in Western countries, there would be a further acceleration of research ”, explains Nutt.
Researchers are trying to have psilocybin recognized as a drug by the World Health Organization (WHO). “There are two steps to getting the change. First, the Omes must admit that it has medical value. And I think it will be very difficult for them to say otherwise. The problem with WHO is that they cannot be forced to review the drug, but their committees of experts must be asked to do so ”. Afterwards, continues the teacher, it is necessary to “obtain a new classification from the United Nations”.
What makes these substances so interesting is the fact that “they work in people where other drugs have not worked. And this is very useful because we know that with current medications – particularly for depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, anorexia, addictions – success rates are just 50 percent, a times less “. And they work much faster: “Most of the effect occurs on the first day and over the next four to eight weeks.
It is therefore possible to get people to heal quickly, which conventional treatments in psychiatry rarely, if ever, do. The process of taking psilocybin and DMT is divided into several stages. First of all, “people are informed of what might happen, how to deal with the experiences, how strange they might be, and they are reassured. It is important that people go through this experience with the knowledge that no matter what happens, they will be assisted. We know that one thing that tends to predict a less successful outcome is anxiety about the experience. It’s not something you can impose on people, they have to want it. ”Later,“ the next day we have psychotherapy sessions, to make sense of it all. Many people have fascinating, albeit challenging, insights ”.
As for “MDMA therapy is not the same thing; it does not disturb the consciousness so much and we usually talk about the trauma during the session. This usually involves two or three sessions over the course of about 12 weeks. In these sessions, people relive the trauma and try to turn off the emotions that emerge when they talk about it “.