A top U.S. health official on Wednesday touted the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA, and he also slammed ongoing federal restrictions that are inhibiting research into marijuana.<\/p>\n
Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was asked about psychedelics and cannabis by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.<\/p>\n
The senator said there\u2019s been \u201cpotentially promising peer-reviewed clinical research\u201d into the substances and referenced a letter NIH sent him in 2019<\/a> that recognized the medical value of certain psychedelics. He asked for a status update on how the agency is navigating the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has been a resurgence of interest in psychedelic drugs, which for a while were sort of considered not an area that researchers legitimately ought to go after,\u201d Collins replied. \u201cAnd I think as we\u2019ve learned more about how the brain works, we\u2019ve begun to realize that these are potential tools for research purposes and might be clinically beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n He proactively brought up psilocybin as an example, noting that clinical trials have found that the compound appears to effectively treat depression, and that \u201ccould be quite exciting because we all are looking for new approaches to that.\u201d The official said MDMA and LSD are also being investigated, but psilocybin is currently getting the most attention.<\/p>\n Watch the NIH director discuss psychedelics and marijuana research, starting around 1:41:00 into the video below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Asked about next steps for NIH when it comes to psychedelics, Collins said<\/a> he\u2019s been communicating with other federal agencies such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) \u201cabout whether it\u2019s a good moment to consider having perhaps a workshop to say, \u2018OK, what have we learned so far and what more might we want to do as far as designing the next generation of clinical trials to see where these provide benefit\u2014going beyond depression to such things as PTSD?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think over the course of the next year we\u2019re going to want to have a hard look at this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Federal agencies are already in the process of exploring psychedelics, with the The National Cancer Institute (NCI), which is part of NIH, holding a speakers series that kicked off last month<\/a> that involved a discussion on the therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms.<\/p>\n At the hearing, Schatz followed up to ask Collins about marijuana research and if NIH has had any progress in removing barriers to studying the plant\u2014an issue he inquired about in a 2019 letter that the agency later responded to<\/a>, with a recommendation to allow researchers to access cannabis from state-legal dispensaries.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re making some progress,\u201d Collins said. But because of the Schedule I status of cannabis, researchers have to overcome significant hurdles to access it. On top of that, there\u2019s currently only one federally authorized source of marijuana for study purposes at the University of Mississippi.<\/p>\n He joked that \u201cwhen I became NIH director, I was told, \u2018hey, you\u2019re running a marijuana farm.\u2019 Who knew?\u201d<\/p>\n The director said researchers have \u201chad all kinds of limitations\u201d and there\u2019s \u201climited opportunity for access.\u201d He noted that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has recently moved to expand the number of marijuana manufacturers<\/a>, but he said what the government \u201creally needs\u201d to do is \u201cmoderate the Schedule I limitation.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he\u2019s spoken with NIDA Director Nora Volkow about the issue and feels there should be a modified Schedule I category called Schedule I-R, \u201cwhich would be basically a different pathway if you\u2019re going to use this material for research.\u201d<\/p>\n Collins, who has discussed<\/a> federal barriers<\/a> to cannabis science<\/a> at several past congressional hearings<\/a>, also committed to work with Schatz\u2019s office on legislation to further remove marijuana research barriers<\/a>.<\/p>\n The tone of the drug policy conversation in the Senate subcommittee was markedly different compared to the House side, where a panel also held a hearing on the NIH budget on Tuesday.<\/p>\n During that meeting<\/a>, lawmakers asked Volkow a series of marijuana-related questions and one about kratom.<\/p>\n She discussed the risks of cannabis use during pregnancy and adolescence, the age when the brain stops developing in adults and the importance of research into the risks and benefits of kratom, a plant-derived substance that some have used as an alternative to opioids.<\/p>\n Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), a longtime opponent to legalization, asked Volkow \u201cis recreational use of marijuana in youth with a still-developing brain a good idea?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d the director said flatly.<\/p>\n Strong Bipartisan Majority Supports Marijuana Legalization In New Hampshire, Poll Finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo elements courtesy of carlosemmaskype<\/a> and Apollo<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Top Federal Health Official Touts Psychedelics\u2019 Therapeutic Benefits And Slams Marijuana Scheduling<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A top U.S. health official on Wednesday touted the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA, and he also slammed ongoing federal restrictions that are inhibiting research into marijuana. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was asked about psychedelics and cannabis by Sen. Brian SchatzContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47884"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47885,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47884\/revisions\/47885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Top Federal Health Official Touts Psychedelics\u2019 Therapeutic Benefits And Slams Marijuana Scheduling<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"