A top federal health official says there is emerging evidence that psychedelics carry \u201csignificant potential\u201d as therapeutic treatments for certain mental health conditions, and it\u2019s a topic of \u201cgreat interest\u201d for researchers.<\/p>\n
At a hearing before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) asked National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Director Nora Volkow about the status of the agency\u2019s research into psychedelics.<\/p>\n
The NIDA head acknowledged that \u201cpsychedelic research effectively was halted for many years\u201d amid cultural stigma and ramped up criminalization under the drug war, but noted that the situation has now changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the evidence is starting to emerge that shows significant potential in terms of therapeutics for certain conditions like severe depression or post-traumatic stress disorder,\u00a0 and also preliminary research showing benefits for the treatment of addiction,\u201d she said, \u201cwe\u2019re actually engaging the scientific community to try to understand how psychedelic drugs can be potentially utilized for the treatment\u2014how they affect the brain, and also how to deploy them in ways that are going to be safe and very effective.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an area of great interest, and both [the National Institute of Mental Health] and NIDA are partnering in trying to expand and accelerate\u201d the research, Volkow said.<\/p>\n
Watch the NIDA director weigh in on psychedelics research, starting at 1:22:31 into the video below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n At the hearing<\/a>, the official also responded to a question from Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who asked about \u201cthe relationship between marijuana use and psychiatric disorders.\u201d<\/p>\n Volkow replied that the agency is \u201cvery concerned\u201d about frequent use of high-THC cannabis products, saying that \u201cwe need to understand what may be consequences or not of the use of cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n When it comes to psychedelics, Schatz and Volkow have both expressed interest in expanding research as more states have started to pursue reform, with an eye toward discovering therapeutic uses for substances like psilocybin and MDMA.<\/p>\n Last year, Schatz and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) pushed top federal officials to provide an update on research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics<\/a>, arguing that ongoing federal prohibition has stymied studies.<\/p>\n NIDA and NIMH responded to the inquiry by saying that federal prohibition makes it more difficult to study the benefits of psychedelics<\/a>, requiring researchers to jump through additional regulatory hoops. Volkow previously said that\u00a0she\u00a0personally hesitates to study Schedule I drugs<\/a> because of those complications.<\/p>\n The director told Marijuana Moment in 2021 that researchers need to prioritize psychedelics research<\/a>, as more people are likely to use them as they\u2019re exposed to studies showing the therapeutic potential of the substances.<\/p>\n Congress has started to take notice of psychedelics policy amid renewed research and reform efforts. In March, for example, bipartisan and bicameral congressional lawmakers filed an updated version of a bill to streamline the federal rescheduling of \u201cbreakthrough therapies\u201d<\/a> like psilocybin and MDMA in order to promote research and drug development.<\/p>\n Booker, along with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) also led a separate bill last year that was designed to clarify that federal \u201cRight to Try\u201d (RTT) laws<\/a>\u00a0give seriously ill patients access to Schedule I drugs, including marijuana and psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA. It was not enacted by the end of the session, however.<\/p>\n The introduction of the bipartisan psychedelics bill this session roughly coincided with the re-launch of a congressional caucus<\/a>\u00a0focused on promoting research into the therapeutic potential of entheogenic substances.<\/p>\n At the state level, lawmakers across the U.S. have filed and advanced psychedelics legislation, largely focusing on promoting research.<\/p>\n Oregon officials have started issuing psilocybin licenses<\/a> as the state prepared to open centers where people can receive the psychedelic treatment at regulated facilities.<\/p>\n Also, Colorado\u2019s legislature has sent a bill to the governor that would enact regulations for psychedelics legalization<\/a> following voter approval of a historic ballot initiative last year.<\/p>\n Texas Voters Will Decide On Marijuana Decriminalization Ballot Measures In San Antonio And Harker Heights On Saturday<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Top Federal Official Touts \u2018Significant Potential\u2019 Of Psychedelics At Senate Hearing<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A top federal health official says there is emerging evidence that psychedelics carry \u201csignificant potential\u201d as therapeutic treatments for certain mental health conditions, and it\u2019s a topic of \u201cgreat interest\u201d for researchers. At a hearing before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) asked National Institute onContinue 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\/64585"}],"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=64585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64586,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64585\/revisions\/64586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Top Federal Official Touts \u2018Significant Potential\u2019 Of Psychedelics At Senate Hearing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"