A vendor bags psilocybin mushrooms at a cannabis marketplace on May 24, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. Recent efforts to make psychedelics like psilocybin available in Connecticut have failed , despite a growing consensus among researchers that they are game-changing in the treatment of some mental health issues.
A pilot program set to begin this summer at Yale University could provide the data state Rep. Michelle Cook, D-Torrington, said has been lacking.
“We need to have the data to show that there is documented proof of what that therapy does,” she said. “We know that it has some incredible outcomes when it is done right, when it’s done by people that are trained in how to use it for treatment of PTSD and so forth.
The study cohort will consist of 50 patients, mostly veterans and first responders, each with mental health concerns like depression and substance-use disorder. They’ll take synthetic psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in so-called "magic mushrooms" and then, after the trip is winding down, discuss their issues with trained therapists.
A 2022 report , produced by a working group led by the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, was clear about the benefits of psilocybin.
“Current research is demonstrating that there are health benefits to the therapeutic use of psilocybin in medical settings under the supervision of health professionals,” the group found. It suggested that the state “legalize the medically supervised use for defined medical problems in licensed health settings under the supervision of health professionals.”
Specifically, the working group found that psilocybin can be useful in treating substance use, depression and palliative care for end-of-life anxiety, among other behavioral health issues.
The data needed to prove that has been difficult to obtain. Psilocybin is still a Schedule 1 drug, meaning federal drug authorities do not recognize a medical benefit, despite the fact that, as the DMHAS working group wrote, “The FDA has signaled the research field that it sees benefit associated with the therapeutic use of psilocybin through its recent awards of breakthrough therapy status to several organizations.”
In practice, using a Schedule 1 drug in a clinical setting […]
Mushroom therapy? Yale study to assess real-life benefits of psilocybin on mental health
