A top federal drug agency is funding a study into how psilocybin could help people quit smoking cigarettes\u2014one of the latest examples of the government\u2019s growing interest in psychedelic therapy.<\/p>\n
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) recently approved the grant, which will enable researchers at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), New York University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham to explore how so-called magic mushrooms can help people curb their addiction to cigarettes.<\/p>\n
Matthew Johnson, a professor at JHU who will be a lead investigator in the study, announced the grant funding on Monday. He said he believes that this is the \u201cfirst grant from the US government in over a half century to directly study therapeutics of a classic psychedelic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe research initiative will be a \u201cmulti-center, high-risk clinical study\u201d into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin in tobacco addiction. It would build on earlier research that\u2019s indicated that the psychedelic could play a valuable role in substance misuse disorders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is extremely encouraging. Public funding for psychedelic science is critical,\u201d Peter Hendricks, a University of Alabama professor who will be involved in the study, told<\/a> Truffle Report. \u201cMy hope is that this opens the door to further scientific inquiry, and ultimately, the advancement of a treatment paradigm that has the potential to alleviate suffering across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson at JHU has been proposing a pilot study into the medical value of psilocybin for this treatment since 2014, stressing in a paper<\/a> for the Journal of Psychopharmacology at the time that \u201cdespite suggestive early findings on the therapeutic use of hallucinogens in the treatment of substance use disorders, rigorous follow-up has not been conducted.\u201d<\/p>\n Now NIDA is putting money toward the research project. But the parameters of the study and the level of funding is unclear. Johnson didn\u2019t reply to several requests for comment.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a sense of urgency to invest in psychedelics research, especially given that a new federal survey identified a rise in the use of hallucinogenic among young adults at the same time that alcohol consumption is declining.<\/p>\n NIDA Director Nora Volkow told Marijuana Moment in a recent interview<\/a> that the increased media attention to psychedelics research, and the reform movement to loosen restrictions on these substances, is contributing to that trend.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople start to discover the potential that these drugs have for therapeutics and the current trials that are ongoing,\u201d she said. \u201cThis takes on a momentum because the ideal world of having a drug that can cure things very dramatically [is appealing].\u201d<\/p>\n It makes sense that JHU would be take a lead role in the NIDA-backed research project.<\/p>\n Researchers at the university have been studying psychedelics for decades, and in 2019, it launched a first-of-its-kind psychedelics research center<\/a>. The Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research has focused primarily on potential therapeutic uses for psychedelics, such as smoking cessation and treatment for depression, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, anorexia and\u00a0opioid withdrawal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics is growing, and there are some early signals that the issue may even be bipartisan.<\/p>\n Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), a veteran who recently moderated a conversation with a top psychedelics reform advocate<\/a>, recently filed an amendment to a defense bill that would have allowed the secretary of defense to approve grants for research into the medical value of certain psychedelics<\/a> such as MDMA, psilocybin, ibogaine and 5\u2013MeO\u2013DMT for active duty military members with post-traumatic stress disorder. That measure wasn\u2019t allowed a House floor vote to the large-scale legislation, however, but it\u2019s another example of how the issue is gaining momentum at the highest levels of government.<\/p>\n A former Republican congresswoman also recently touted the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics<\/a>, sharing the story of how a close family friend was able to recover from alcoholism with the help of psilocybin.<\/p>\n The psychedelics reform movement is also continuing to grow.<\/p>\n Last week, California activists were cleared to begin collecting signatures for a historic initiative to legalize psilocybin mushrooms<\/a> in the state.<\/p>\n Detroit could also become one of the next Michigan cities to decriminalize psychedelics, with the reform proposal making the local ballot for this November<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Ann Arbor City Council has already elected to make enforcement of laws prohibition psychedelics like psilocybin, ayahuasca and DMT\u00a0among the city\u2019s lowest priorities<\/a>\u2014and lawmakers recently followed up by declaring September\u00a0Entheogenic Plants and Fungi Awareness Month<\/a>. Advocates have also introduced a reform resolution to the Grand Rapids City Council.<\/p>\n In California,\u00a0Oakland<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Santa Cruz<\/a>\u00a0have already enacted psychedelics decriminalization.<\/p>\n Oregon voters passed an initiative last November to\u00a0legalize psilocybin therapy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Washington, D.C. voters also approved a ballot measure last year to\u00a0deprioritize enforcement of laws criminalizing psychedelics<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Denver activists who successfully led a 2019 campaign to make the city\u00a0the first in the U.S. to decriminalize psilocybin possession<\/a>\u00a0have their eyes set on broader reform<\/a>, with plans in the works to end the criminalization of noncommercial gifting and communal use of the psychedelic.<\/p>\n Massachusetts cities that have enacted the policy change are:\u00a0Northampton<\/a>,\u00a0Somerville<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Cambridge<\/a>. In July, state lawmakers heard testimony about a bill to create a task force charged with\u00a0studying the implications of legalizing psychedelics like psilocybin and ayahuasca<\/a>.<\/p>\n The governor of Connecticut recently signed legislation recently that includes language requiring the state to carry out\u00a0a study into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms<\/a>.<\/p>\n Texas also recently enacted a bill to require the state\u00a0study the medical benefits of psychedelics for military veterans<\/a>.<\/p>\n A New York lawmaker introduced a bill in June that would require the state to establish an institute to similarly\u00a0research the medical value of psychedelics<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Oakland, the first city where a city council voted to broadly deprioritize criminalization of entheogenic substances, lawmakers\u00a0approved a follow-up resolution<\/a>\u00a0in December that calls for the policy change to be adopted statewide and for local jurisdictions to be allowed to permit healing ceremonies where people could use psychedelics.<\/p>\n The Aspen, Colorado City Council\u00a0discussed the therapeutic potential of psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0like psilocybin and proposals to decriminalize such substances at a meeting in May. But members said, as it stands, enacting a reform would be more better handled at the state level while entheogens remain strictly federally controlled.<\/p>\n Seattle lawmakers also recently sent a letter to members of a local task force focused on the opioid overdose epidemic, imploring the group to\u00a0investigate the therapeutic potential of psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0like ayahuasca and ibogaine in curbing addiction. In response, the task force issued a recommendation for\u00a0the widespread decriminalization of all drugs<\/a>. The group said psychedelics in particular could represent a promising treatment to address substance abuse disorders and mental health issues.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Portland, Oregon activists are mounting\u00a0a push to have local lawmakers pass a resolution<\/a>\u00a0decriminalizing the cultivation, gifting and ceremonial use of a wide range of psychedelics.<\/p>\n In a setback for advocates, the U.S. House of Representatives recently voted against a proposal from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) that\u00a0would have removed a spending bill rider<\/a>\u00a0that advocates say has restricted federal funds for research into Schedule I drugs, including psychedelics such as psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine. However, it picked up considerably more votes this round than\u00a0when the congresswoman first introduced it<\/a>\u00a0in 2019.<\/p>\n Report provisions of separate, House-passed spending legislation also touch on the need to\u00a0expand cannabis and psychedelics research<\/a>. The panel urged NIDA to support expanded marijuana studies, for example. It further says that federal health agencies should pursue research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0for military veterans suffering from a host of mental health conditions.<\/p>\n There was an attempt by a Republican congressman to attach language into a defense spending bill that would promote research into psychedelics therapy for active duty military members, but it was not made in order<\/a> in the House Rules Committee this week.<\/p>\n When it comes to broader drug policy reform, Oregon voters also approved an initiative in November to\u00a0decriminalize possession of all drugs<\/a>. This year, the Maine House of Representatives\u00a0passed a drug decriminalization bill<\/a>, but it later\u00a0died in the Senate<\/a>.<\/p>\n In May, lawmakers in Congress filed the\u00a0first-ever legislation to federally decriminalize possession<\/a>\u00a0of illicit substances.<\/p>\n Marijuana Banking Sponsor Discusses Path Through Senate After House Approves Reform For Fifth Time<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Image courtesy of Kristie Gianopulos<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Feds Fund Study Into Whether Psilocybin Can Help People Quit Smoking Cigarettes<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A top federal drug agency is funding a study into how psilocybin could help people quit smoking cigarettes\u2014one of the latest examples of the government\u2019s growing interest in psychedelic therapy. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) recently approved the grant, which will enable researchers at Johns Hopkins University (JHU),Continue 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],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50106"}],"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=50106"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50107,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50106\/revisions\/50107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Feds Fund Study Into Whether Psilocybin Can Help People Quit Smoking Cigarettes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"