Psychedelics hold promise for primary care research

Abstract

Dear Editor, We are in the midst of a so-called “psychedelic renaissance,” a time of renewed interest in the therapeutic potential of psychoactive drugs such as psilocybin, mescaline, and lysergic acid diethylamide. When they first emerged as topics of academic interest in the mid-20th century, these substances were greeted with exuberance for their apparent panacea-like effects in treating a range of conditions from depression and anxiety to post-traumatic stress disorder to existential grief in terminal cancer patients. Despite their promise, these compounds became associated with the counterculture movement in the public imagination and research was suppressed by political forces aligned with the so-called “War on Drugs.” It seems, however, that we have reached a watershed moment as psychedelic research has reemerged and even become mainstream, reaching the front page of the New York Times in May of this year.1 Already, psilocybin has been granted “Breakthrough Therapy” status by the...