ISSN 0959-8138; 1756-1833;
40 papers in the library · 992 citations · publishing 1951-2026
BMJ March 27, 2026 J K Aronson
Many terms have been invented to describe different types of hallucinogenic drugs, sometimes based on an analogy with the symptoms of schizophrenia, such as “psychotomimetic” and “phrenotropic.” “Psychedelics” refers to drugs that act as agonists at serotonin 5-HT2A receptors in the brain; they include psilocybin, 5-methoxydimethyltryptamine, and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (tryptamine derivatives),...
BMJ March 20, 2026 Jeffrey K Aronson 1 citation
Psychedelic drugs produce effects on the mind that manifest as an apparent expansion of consciousness often accompanied by hallucinations. Psychedelics, which act as agonists at serotonin 5-HT2A receptors in the brain, include psilocybin, 5-methoxydimethyltryptamine, and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (tryptamine derivatives), mescaline (a phenethylamine derivative), and lysergic acid diethylamide...
BMJ February 23, 2026 Edward Jacobs, Zarmeen Zahid, Jared T. Hinkle et al. 5 citations
Over the past 15 years, psychedelic treatments have garnered substantial clinical interest, with psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) advancing to phase 3 trials for various psychiatric conditions. This state-of-the-art review examines the evidence for these treatments and their proposed mechanisms of action, and identifies key challenges in clinical translation. Psychedelic...
BMJ February 16, 2026 Jonathan S Abramowitz, Amitai Abramovitch, Dean Mckay et al. 1 citation
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic, often debilitating psychiatric condition characterized by intrusive thoughts and behavioral or mental rituals. Although exposure and response prevention (ERP) remains the first line treatment, many individuals do not experience full remission, highlighting the need for innovation. This review provides a comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis of...
BMJ February 3, 2026 Adam Winstock, David Nutt, Caroline S Copeland
Without parallel public health action, reclassifying ketamine risks being a symbolic gesture rather than a strategy to reduce harm, write Adam Winstock, David Nutt, and Caroline Copeland
BMJ November 19, 2024 Cédric Lemarchand, Raphaël Chopin, M Paul et al. 9 citations
Cédric Lemarchand and colleagues highlight weaknesses in the evidence on efficacy and safety of hallucinogens and question the use of expedited regulatory pathways
BMJ August 21, 2024 Trevor Thompson, Ping-Tao Tseng, Chih-Wei Hsu et al. 24 citations
Abstract Objective To evaluate the comparative effectiveness and acceptability of oral monotherapy using psychedelics and escitalopram in patients with depressive symptoms, considering the potential for overestimated effectiveness due to unsuccessful blinding. Design Systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis. Data sources Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials,...
BMJ May 4, 2024 2 citations
The journal and the authors are investigating the problem.The study analysed data from randomised trials of psilocybin for the treatment of depression in adults.A methodological concern has been raised about an error in the calculation of standardised mean differences.This is likely to have overestimated the benefits of psilocybin.The authors are reviewing and responding to the error and its...
BMJ May 1, 2024 Athina-Marina Metaxa, Mike Clarke 78 citations
Abstract Objective To determine the efficacy of psilocybin as an antidepressant compared with placebo or non-psychoactive drugs. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Five electronic databases of published literature (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Embase, Science Citation Index and Conference Proceedings Citation Index, and PsycInfo) and four...
BMJ November 16, 2023 Joanne Silberner
at the age of 77, was an American psychopharmacologist widely credited with reviving the study of psychedelic drugs."He was almost the opposite of what I imagined a psychedelic researcher would be like," said Nassim Assefi, who curated a talk Griffiths gave in 2015."He was serious, gentle, and had a straight laced appearance, with a deeply calm, spiritual sense about him."When Griffiths learnt...
BMJ May 2, 2023 Leslie A. King, David Nutt, David E. Nichols 1 citation
Regulation of clinical research on schedule 1 drugs with therapeutic potential should be reviewed, argue Leslie King, David Nutt and David Nichols
BMJ October 6, 2022 Joanne Silberner 1 citation
As a flurry of US states approve psilocybin for medicinal use, Joanne Silberner asks whether the most carefully studied of psychedelic drugs will revolutionise treatment of depression and other psychiatric ailments
BMJ December 10, 2021 David Nutt 1 citation
We should invest in research, provision of new treatments, and safe injecting rooms, writes David Nutt
BMJ January 31, 2020 Rebecca Wallersteiner 1 citation
Credit: Dassima Kathleen Murphy Nothing in Richard Alpert’s early life could have predicted that he would come to embody the spirit of the psychedelic 1960s. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of three sons, to George and Gertrude (Levin) Alpert. His father, a prominent lawyer in Boston, was a founder of Brandeis University and went on to become president of the New York and New...
BMJ January 25, 2017 Derek K. Tracy, David M Wood, David Baumeister 117 citations
Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about The BMJ.NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address. Username * Your Email * Send To * You are going to email the following Novel psychoactive substances: types, mechanisms of action, and...
BMJ May 18, 2016 Nigel Hawkes 5 citations
Not so fast. There’s a long way to go. But a study in London has shown that the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, psilocybin, may be effective against treatment resistant depression. Its effects were quick—within a week—and more than 40% of the patients treated were still in remission three months later.1 Yes, as far as it goes. These were people whose depression had …
BMJ May 26, 2015 James Rucker 27 citations
Trials of physiologically safe and non-addictive drugs such as LSD are almost impossible, writes James J H Rucker, calling on the authorities to downgrade their unnecessarily restrictive class A, schedule 1 classification
BMJ October 17, 2012 Edward G. D. Tuddenham
“We have had recent experience with renal toxicity caused by deliberate ingestion of psilocybin mushrooms, which are eaten for their hallucinogenic effects. Acute renal failure secondary to the recreational use of mushrooms is rarely reported.”1 Each of these statements is problematic. The authors give no …
BMJ October 17, 2011 C. Dyer 2 citations
A doctor in private practice has been suspended for six months by the General Medical Council for giving the unlicensed hallucinogenic drug ibogaine to a man obsessed with internet pornography without fully explaining the drug’s risks. Peter Brackenridge, who saw private patients in London’s Harley Street, was medical director of Ibogaine Therapy UK, which advertised the treatment on a website....
BMJ August 10, 2011 T. Dalrymple
The belief that the theory of evolution and the neurosciences have something important to tell us about the inescapable problems of human existence has once again become fashionable. In my view, this is false and facile; a reading of the first chapter of William James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience should explain why. James (1842–1910) was one of three distinguished siblings. His...
BMJ March 1, 2011 Rebecca Kuepper, Jim van Os, R. Lieb et al. 307 citations
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether use of cannabis in adolescence increases the risk for psychotic outcomes by affecting the incidence and persistence of subclinical expression of psychosis in the general population (that is, expression of psychosis below the level required for a clinical diagnosis). DESIGN: Analysis of data from a prospective population based cohort study in Germany (early...
BMJ July 6, 2010 Simon D. Brandt, Harry Sumnall, Fiona Measham et al. 57 citations
Since the recent ban on mephedrone,1 2several alternative products have been introduced on internet websites. One of the most prominently discussed second generation products is Energy 1 (NRG-1), also advertised as naphyrone (naphthylpyrovalerone, O-2482), which originated from a group of compounds previously described in the medicinal chemistry …
BMJ June 19, 2008 Ned Stafford
Psychopharmacologist who studied the effects of LSD and co-invented the nicotine patch
BMJ August 3, 2006 Michael Gossop 8 citations
This week the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology published the report of its inquiry on the classification of illegal drugs in the United Kingdom.1 The report high-lighted glaring anomalies in the classification of illegal drugs into classes A, B, and C and reflected a broad agreement that the current system is not fit for purpose. The committee also reported...
BMJ February 24, 2006 Anja C. Huizink, Robert F Ferdinand, Jan Van der Ende et al. 77 citations
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether using ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) is preceded by symptoms of behavioural and emotional problems in childhood and early adolescence. DESIGN: Prospective, longitudinal, population based study SETTING: The Dutch province of Zuid-Holland. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 1580 individuals, followed up across a 14 year period, from childhood into...