Psychedelics Use Associated With 55 Percent Decrease In Daily Opioid Consumption, Study Finds
A new study found that people who used psychedelics within the past six months were 55% less likely to use opioids daily.
Support for first responders
GOP Pennsylvania Lawmaker Files Psilocybin Research Bill For Veterans And First Responders
The push for psilocybin research is gaining traction in Pennsylvania.
Twenty one lawmakers from both parties sponsored a bill called the Public Heath Benefits of Psilocybin Act, which would set up a research framework to optimize psilocybin’s public health benefits. Studies focused on veterans, retired first responders, and their families would be prioritized.
“A growing body of research provides a reason for hope that psilocybin, administered in a controlled setting, will be the most effective tool at our disposal to combat the suicide, opioid and overall mental health crisis burdening the Commonwealth,” the group wrote to colleagues.
Tackling Seattle’s opioid crisis
Seattle Overdose Task Force Calls for Decriminalization of All Drugs
Will Seattle be the next city to decriminalize psychedelics?
On Tuesday, Overdose Emergency Innovative Recovery (OEIR) task force made five policy recommendations to address Seattle’s ongoing opioid crisis, as requested by the City Council, including a call for the widespread decriminalization of all drugs.
The task force said that decriminalization, or potentially legalization and regulation, would promote research opportunities, create a safe supply, reduce the stigma of substance use, and could bring in billions of dollars in revenue to the state.
The OEIR believes psychedelic therapy could be a solution to the opioid crisis, noting its effectiveness in treating substance abuse disorder. The group is advocating for municipalities to deprioritize the enforcement of psychedelics and encourages State and federal officials to broaden access to psychedelic therapy.
Research shows psilocybin’s potential to treat cocaine addiction and chronic pain
Magic mushrooms: UAB studying benefits for addiction and pain
Dr. Peter Hendricks, a researcher at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, found that patients given psilocybin saw significant and lasting reductions in cocaine use compared to patients given a placebo. He plans to continue studying psilocybin’s effect on addiction, as well as on chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia. Hendricks explains that psilocybin disrupts repetitive thought patterns in the default mode network of the brain, the structures that engage in unfocused activities. “Suddenly your horizons are broadened, and broadened tremendously, and you’re thinking about something other than obtaining or using that drug (or worrying about your pain)”.
New York bill would create a psychedelics research institute to study psilocybin treatment for substance use disorder and depression.
New York Bill Would Create State-Sponsored Psychedelics Research Institute
A new bill proposed in New York would create a psychedelic research institute to study the effect of psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and ibogaine on conditions including addictive disorders, depression, PTSD, and end-of-life anxiety. The bill is sponsored by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D), who believes that “psychedelics provide a host of benefits without the same risk of overdose or dependency that other medications may provide”. The legislature suggests that “psilocybin is a breakthrough therapy for severe depression and nicotine addiction” and may also provide treatment for methamphetamine or opioid addiction.