The plans to test LSD in anxiety patients in a clinical study have been stopped in their tracks as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has halted the process for unclear reasons.
According to Reuters, the US FDA has put a clinical hold on Mind Medicine Inc’s application to start testing psychedelic drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin, in patients with generalised anxiety disorder.
Mind Medicine claims that the halt is in relation to their investigational new drug application, which is required to start a mid-stage trial of the drug, lysergic acid diethylamide.
The FDA hasn’t yet said why they stopped the process – Mind Medicine expects an answer within 30 days.
As Reuters writes, this move is yet another blow to the psychedelic industry’s attempts to build a body of evidence of the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs, including LSD and psilocybin.
The FDA’s decision is questionable for many reasons. Psychedelics use is on the rise and more states, counties and cities in the United States are choosing to decriminalise this category of drugs.
While the uncontrolled use of psychedelics has its dangers, of course, many studies have come to the conclusion that psychedelic compounds, such as psilocybin, could offer medical help for some in need of a “different” treatment.
For example, “microdosing” psychedelic drugs has been on the rise during the coronavirus pandemic. An increasing number of people are opting for the “microdosing” of these substances to improve their wellness and mental health during the pandemic, according to a recent survey.
Microdosing refers to the practice of taking tiny doses of a drug – usually psychedelics such as psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and LSD.
While using higher doses of psychedelics can have a wide range of intoxicating and hallucinogenic effects, these psychoactive effects are not usually associated with microdosing.
Also, a new study argued that there might be a link between classic psychedelic use (DMT, LSD, “magic” mushroom, etc.) and lower odds of heart disease.
It is reported that the participants who had used psychedelics at least once in their lifetime had a lower chance, 23% and 12%, respectively, to develop heart diseases and diabetes in the past year.
The FDA’s decision to go against a clinical trial into psychedelics could be the real danger, not the drugs themselves.
The substances and the compounds could be the solution for many medical conditions and researchers should only be encouraged to look into them.
