Politics

An NYT story blamed leftists for obstructing psychedelic therapy… truth is…

Without the efforts of this “small band of anticapitalist activists,” the authors argue, Lykos Therapeutics’ “$250 million investment” in MDMA-AT may have paid off by being the first psychedelic therapy to get federal approval – potentially establishing the company as a multibillion-dollar enterprise. As a journalist who has followed the psychedelics movement for years and attended hearings…

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Politics

Did the FDA destroy the psychedelic medicine movement?

One thing has definitely changed, though: MDMA is no longer the main character of the Psychedelic Renaissance. Local decriminalization and legalization efforts march forward across the country, with a fast-growing underground market of products and services centered around psilocybin, but also featuring DMT, LSD, and a number of more obscure psychoactives. “I’m frustrated that MDMA…

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Medicine/Healing

VA funds first study on psychedelic-assisted therapy for Veterans

…the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it will fund a study on Methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted, or MDMA-assisted, therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder among Veterans. This is the first VA-funded study for psychedelic-assisted therapy since the 1960s. The study is scheduled to take place at the Providence VA Medical Center in Rhode…

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Medicine/Healing

Healthcare workers back psychedelics but lack crucial knowledge, study finds

The research… from Johns Hopkins University, surveyed 879 healthcare providers, shedding light on current attitudes, knowledge levels, and concerns… The vast majority of respondents, 93%, endorsed the potential of psilocybin and 76% supported the promise of MDMA in clinical settings. However, self-reported knowledge did not align with objective assessments. While participants rated their understanding of psilocybin’s…

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Biography/Memoir

MDMA therapy didn’t get FDA approval. Now what?

The FDA declined to approve the new treatment submitted by Lykos Therapeutics, an organization that develops innovations to “transform mental healthcare,” deciding that there still isn’t enough evidence of benefit to outweigh the risks. The decision will have far-reaching ripple effects. Some psychedelic advocates will have to put celebrations they’ve been planning for decades on pause;…

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Science

Older people who use psychedelics show fascinating brain functions

A recent survey of 3,294 US adults, aged between 42 and 92, has found that… compared to those who did not use psychedelics, those who did scored higher on tests… which assessed inductive reasoning, verbal fluency, working memory, processing speed, attention switching, and inhibitory control. Psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and other psychedelics appear to stimulate new connections between…

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