A new scientific review published by the American Medical Association (AMA) shows that use of psilocybin has \u201csurged\u201d in the U.S. in recent years amid the decriminalization movement and in light of \u201cpromising clinical trial results\u201d on its therapeutic potential.<\/p>\n
But the paper, released on Wednesday, also points out that current federal laws present \u201ca major barrier\u201d to researchers gaining a better understanding of the psychedelic substance\u2019s true impacts.<\/p>\n
As a result, similar to what\u2019s been observed during the state-level marijuana legalization push, \u201cpublic access and enthusiasm are outpacing regulatory oversight and scientific understanding, posing potential risks to public health,\u201d researchers said.<\/p>\n
An analysis of epidemiological and pharmacological studies on psilocybin-related trends from January 1-December 31, 2024\u2014which also examined parallels to cannabis policy shifts\u2014showed a sharp increase in the use of psychedelic mushrooms, \u201cparticularly among adults aged 19 to 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The researchers from the University of Colorado said this increase in usage rates \u201ccoincided with a substantial increase in poison control center calls related to psychedelics,\u201d and data from jurisdictions that have decriminalized entheogenic substances like psilocybin reveals \u201cmore than 20-fold variability in psilocybin potency and inconsistent levels of minor tryptamines across mushroom strains.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe expanding use of unregulated psilocybin mushrooms, combined with high variability in composition and common co-use with other substances, raises urgent public health concerns. Existing clinical data are insufficient to guide harm reduction or policy. There is a pressing need to pivot from controlled efficacy trials to real-world research on psilocybin use, including public education, potency testing, and age-specific risk assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Psychiatry, said it\u2019s \u201ccritical\u201d that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and others in the academic community \u201cprioritize research on the risks and potential benefits of natural psilocybin-containing mushrooms to inform harm reduction strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Researchers also zeroed in on parallels between cannabis and psilocybin usage and the challenges of studying their risks and benefits given their status as Schedule I drugs under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA).<\/p>\n
\u201cPsychedelic drug policy in the US is evolving rapidly, reflected in the steady increase of reform bills introduced each year, and is projected to follow a legislative trajectory somewhat similar to that of cannabis,\u201d the review says. \u201cCurrently, both cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms are becoming more accessible and more widely accepted by the public and scientific communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the authors cautioned that, \u201cas with cannabis in its early stages, use of psychedelic mushrooms is advancing faster than the science, creating potential risks for consumers and raising public health and safety concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the review says researching psilocybin mushrooms is more complicated than researching marijuana because of a lack of access to whole mushrooms (as opposed to synthetic psilocybin), that isn\u2019t necessarily the case any longer, as of this year. The Scottsdale Research Institute (SRI) is federally approved to produce natural psilocybin for study purposes, and one of the initial grants for such research was approved in Arizona last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even so, the authors said \u201cvery little is known about the acute or long-term effects of naturally occurring psilocybin as it is consumed by the public,\u201d and, \u201cin this way, Schedule I classification remains a major barrier to understanding the real-world public health impact of psychedelic mushrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n The researchers said that the purpose of their review isn\u2019t about advocating for \u201cstricter laws or greater enforcement\u201d of non-clinical psychedelic use. Rather, it\u2019s to \u201cunderscore the urgent need for new research programs to address the public health implications of a social environment that is already promoting greater use of psilocybin and other psychedelics.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMuch like cannabis, psilocybin carries both risks and potential benefits, which may be very different for different people depending on age, health status, and context of use,\u201d they said<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cConducting research on naturally occurring psilocybin mushrooms will not be easy, given the Schedule I status and the absence of a federally approved source of mushrooms for research. Nonetheless, given the sharp increase in consumer interest and the lack of generalizable research on naturally occurring psilocybin mushrooms, it is critical that the scientific community and funding agencies pivot from a narrow focus on clinical trials of synthetic psilocybin to the study of real-world psilocybin use and treat this shift as a public health priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in August formally requested that federal health officials conduct a medical scientific review on psilocybin<\/a> in response to a long-pending rescheduling petition.<\/p>\n Under the Biden administration, there was stepped-up interest in examining certain psychedelics, with novel guidance for researchers from FDA in the pursuit of potential approvals, but\u00a0the agency ultimately rejected an application to make MDMA-assisted therapy available<\/a>\u00a0for the treatment of PTSD.<\/p>\n In May, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins touted the fact that he\u2019s \u201cone of the first\u201d secretaries of the agency with a\u00a0commitment to exploring psychedelics as a potential therapy option for veterans<\/a>.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump\u2019s latest surgeon general pick, Casey Means, has also been\u00a0public about her own experience benefiting from psilocybin<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Lou Correa (D-CA)\u2014co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus\u2014introduced a bill in April to provide $30 million in funding annually\u00a0to establish psychedelics-focused \u201ccenters for excellence\u201d at VA facilities<\/a>, where veterans could receive novel treatment involving substances like psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine.<\/p>\n Bergman has also\u00a0expressed optimism about the prospects of advancing psychedelics reform under Trump<\/a>, arguing that the administration\u2019s efforts to cut spending and the federal workforce will give agencies \u201cspines\u201d to tackle such complex issues.<\/p>\n Collins also recently\u00a0met with a military veteran who\u2019s become an advocate for psilocybin access<\/a>\u00a0to discuss the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine for the veteran community.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the secretary separately informed Trump during a Cabinet meeting that\u00a0his agency is \u201copening up the possibility of psychedelic treatment\u201d<\/a>\u00a0for veterans.<\/p>\n The post Psilocybin Use Has \u2018Surged\u2019 But Federal Law Is A \u2018Major Barrier\u2019 To Research, Study Published By American Medical Association Says<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A new scientific review published by the American Medical Association (AMA) shows that use of psilocybin has \u201csurged\u201d in the U.S. in recent years amid the decriminalization movement and in light of \u201cpromising clinical trial results\u201d on its therapeutic potential. But the paper, released on Wednesday, also points out thatContinue 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":[18,15462],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84159"}],"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=84159"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84160,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84159\/revisions\/84160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Psilocybin Use Has \u2018Surged\u2019 But Federal Law Is A \u2018Major Barrier\u2019 To Research, Study Published By American Medical Association Says<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"