Can psychedelics have a role in psychiatry once again?
The paper reviews the natural abundance and millennia‑long human use of psychedelics (LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, MDMA, DMT) and argues they warrant renewed consideration for therapeutic applications in psychiatry.
Abstract
Psychedelic or hallucinogenic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 3, 4, 5-trimethoxy-β-phenethylamine (mescaline), psilocybin, 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamph-etamine (MDMA), N, N-dimethyltrypta-mine (DMT) and their relations occur in abundance throughout the natural world, and have been used by humankind for thousands of years.
Research Summary of 'Can psychedelics have a role in psychiatry once again?'
Introduction
Psychedelic or hallucinogenic compounds such as LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, MDMA and DMT occur widely in nature and have a long history of human use for spiritual and ritual purposes. Abramson frames these substances as having an under-appreciated chapter in psychiatric practice: between the 1940s and 1960s there was intense clinical and scientific interest in their potential therapeutic and investigative uses, but that work largely disappeared amid legal restrictions and social controversy. This paper offers a concise historical overview of that era and of more recent developments, and asks whether interest in psychedelic compounds is re-emerging for psychiatry. It aims to sketch what was known from earlier clinical work, to describe ongoing research lines, and to highlight barriers and opportunities for reconsidering these drugs in modern psychiatric practice and research.
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Sessa, B. (2005). Can psychedelics have a role in psychiatry once again?. British Journal of Psychiatry, 186(6), 457-458. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.186.6.457
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