The hallucinogenic compound 5-MeO-DMT comes from the secretions of Bufo alvarius, also known as the Sonoran Desert toad. This week, two companies developing synthetic forms of the substance as medical treatments announced preliminary results.

This study describes Oregon’s early psilocybin facilitator workforce and assesses state-approved training programs.

The origins of the ancient Greek Eleusinian Mysteries are lost to time. We know that from the classical period onward, on a specified day in the third month of the Attic calendar (roughly September or October), initiates would walk the fourteen miles from Athens to the town of Eleusis along the “Sacred Road” to celebrate the Greater Mysteries.

Panorama is the second Phase 3 trial of lysergide D-tartrate (LSD) with the primary endpoint measuring the change from baseline in the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) score at week 12 for MM120 Orally Disintegrating Tablet (ODT) 100 µg vs placebo.

This overview seeks to map out drug discovery & development activity in psychedelics. Candidates currently undergoing clinical trials are presented first, while those that are at the discovery or preclinical stage are catalogued in the latter half of this page.

The US FDA has approved a supplemental new drug application allowing esketamine nasal spray to be used as a standalone treatment in adults with major depressive disorder who have not responded adequately to at least two oral antidepressants.

The January edition of the American Journal of Bioethics focuses just on psychedelics. There are a couple of editorials and then four 'target articles' with a further twenty six article commentaries.

Group psilocybin-assisted therapy plus MBSR was associated with clinically significant improvement in depressive symptoms without serious adverse events and with greater reduction in symptoms than MBSR alone.

The body of IFS literature is extensive, enthusiastic, and thought-provoking. Outcome data for applying the model to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are limited.

The aim of this study was to explore the psychological and spiritual dimensions of psychedelic integration among mental health professionals, focusing on understanding how transformation and insights influence their clinical work. 

Taken together, these findings suggest that psilocybin therapy may be potentially acceptable and may feasibly help in supporting survivors of adverse childhood experiences with particularly strong benefits to those with more severe childhood adversity.

This review will evaluate the evidence supporting the theory that psychedelics can be used for the treatment of OCD, as well as the data regarding claims about their mechanisms. It will also discuss issues with the current evidence and the ongoing trials of psilocybin that aim to address these knowledge gaps.

The overarching aims in this overview are 1) to review methodological aspects that affect inferences and interpretation of extant psychedelic studies in psychiatric disorders, and 2) to provide guidance for future research and development of psychedelic treatment in psychiatry, critical to study interpretation and clinical implementation.

The primary benefit of such a (Compass Pathways) framework is to support a safe and meaningful psilocybin experience. It also enables future research on the facets of psychological support and/or psychotherapy that most optimally complement psilocybin treatment.

We are delighted to introduce this special issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry on psychedelics. This marks a moment of legitimacy for what was once considered a fringe, fledgling movement driven solely by a select group of zealously dedicated scientists and clinicians. In contrast to this early nascent period, the enthusiasm, interest, and pursuit of scientific and medical research on the psychiatric applications of psychedelic compounds has exploded in recent years, leading to the declaration of the current phase as a “renaissance” period for psychedelic research.

The authors critically examine the evidence base for psilocybin administered with psychological support/therapy (PST) in the treatment of psychiatric disorders and offer practical recommendations to guide future research endeavors.

After a course of MDMA-AT involving three MDMA administrations supported by psychotherapy, 67%–71% of individuals with PTSD no longer meet diagnostic criteria after MDMA-AT versus 32%–48% with placebo-assisted therapy, and effects endure at long-term follow-up ... This review further describes the putative neurobiological mechanisms of MDMA underlying its therapeutic effects, the clinical evidence of MDMA-AT, considerations at the level of public health and policy, and future research directions.

Potential benefits of these treatments include flexible, single day dosing regimens, achievement of treatment efficacy independent from integrative therapy, and ease of clinical implementation ... Acceptance of ultra-fast, short-acting psychedelics will depend on future randomized, placebo-controlled trials with a focus on replication, duration and maintenance of antidepressant efficacy in large patient samples.

The Microdose asked a handful of journalists who closely follow and regularly report on the psychedelics beat to answer a few questions: 'What is one psychedelics story you will be following in 2025? Why?'

Why did FDA delay the approval of MDMA therapy? - interview with Rick Doblin.