Psychedelic Medicine

New research has estimated legalization of cannabis over the past 25 years has cost pharma companies billions of dollars in lost sales. And, if cannabis were to be legalized across the entire US, pharma stocks could rapidly drop by over 10 percent.

For almost a century, popular culture has presented images of lazy, unmotivated "stoners" who do little more with their lives than smoke cannabis, but across a series of lab experiments and brain imaging tests a new study is busting that long-held myth.

A study has reported results from the first ever placebo-controlled trial testing psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for alcohol use disorder, but the findings inadvertently raise major questions about the veracity of clinical trials for psychedelic drugs.

Data from an annual drug-use survey has found use of psychedelics among US adults is at the highest point ever recorded in the survey’s history. The data also indicates alcohol and tobacco consumption is trending down but marijuana-use has increased.

A pair of unassuming psychedelic researchers have proposed a radical paradigm shift to the way psychotherapy is conducted, presenting a unique protocol for incorporating virtual reality into the still-experimental model of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.

A trial exploring MDMA-assisted therapy in a group setting is about to commence following the resolution of a clinical hold placed by the FDA that paused progress for several months. The trial's goal is to make MDMA-assisted therapy more cost-effective.

The first data has been announced from a Phase 2 trial testing LSD as treatment for anxiety. The results indicate one to two LSD sessions can generate rapid and sustained reductions to anxiety but larger trials are needed to validate these findings.

An ongoing study is testing a new kind of neuroimaging device designed to easily capture brain activity in real-time. These experiments will investigate the effects of ketamine on functional connectivity in the brain before, during and after an experience.

A study has reported the results of the first modern clinical investigation to compare the acute effects of psychedelics LSD and psilocybin. The study reveals little subjective difference between the two drugs beyond LSD lasting longer than psilocybin.

Weeks after a trial found psilocybin microdosing no different to placebo, another study has reported LSD microdoses have no effect on mood or cognition. This builds on a body of data struggling to find evidence the practice of microdosing does anything.

New research has offered valuable insights into the long-term effects of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for depression. The study reports more than half the original cohort were still in remission 12 months after the acute psychedelic treatment.

Delta-8 THC is similar to its commonly known psychoactive cousin, delta-9 THC, and new studies are offering the first large-scale insights into what kinds of effects people are experiencing with this unique and under-researched drug.