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Treating addiction with psychedelics - are we waking up?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

J. Miranda ,
M. Barbosa ,
I. Figueiredo ,
P. Mota  and
A. Tarelho
J. Miranda*
Affiliation:
Mental Health Department, Centro Hospitalar de Leiria, Leiria, Portugal
M. Barbosa
Affiliation:
Mental Health Department, Centro Hospitalar de Leiria, Leiria, Portugal
I. Figueiredo
Affiliation:
Mental Health Department, Hospital Professor Doutor Fernando Fonseca, Lisboa (Amadora), Portugal
P. Mota
Affiliation:
Departamento De Psiquiatria E Saúde Mental, Centro Hospitalar do Tâmega e Sousa, Guilhufe, Portugal
A. Tarelho
Affiliation:
Mental Health Department, Centro Hospitalar de Leiria, Leiria, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Classic psychedelics have been administered in sacramental contexts since ancient times. They were of prominent interest within psychiatry and neuroscience in the 1950s to 1960s, but the association between classic psychedelics and the emerging counterculture put an end to their research. Modern research with classic psychedelics has reinitiated interest in the treatment of both cancer-related distress and addiction, with really promising results.

Objectives

We aim to provide a review about history and new insights regarding research with psychedelics specially as treatment of addictive disorders.

Methods

A framing analysis of articles, searched on Pubmed (articles between 2010-2020) with the key words: “ psychedelics”, “psilocybin”, “substance use disorder”, “addiction”.

Results

Classic psychedelics are 5HT2AR agonists such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin. They were shown to occasion mystical experiences, which are experiences reported throughout different cultures and religions involving a strong sense of unity. These experiences are scientifically important because they appear to cause abrupt and sustained changes in behavior and perception, that can be very useful in the substance use disorder field. From this analysis is possible to understand that the use of psychadelics in the treatment of some addictions is currently at an early stage of research. However, they show interesting results with no clinically significant adverse events when risk individuals are excluded.

Conclusions

In comparison to psychedelic research about cancer-related psychological distress, studies with addictions are less developed, but if they continue to suggest safety and efficacy, may be the use of psilocybin for the treatment of specific addiction can happen in a close future.

Keywords

psychedelicsAddictionSubstance Use Disorder
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S575 - S576
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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