Substances such as LSD (Lysergsäurediethylamid), psilocybin that "rises" from the so-called "magic mushrooms" or DMT (Dimethyltryptamine), also found in plants, are banned worldwide by a 1971 United Nations convention. But since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the number of proponents of these substances for use in psychotherapy has increased.
As Ukraine has seen an increase in the number of cases of serious mental illness, psychotherapists are increasingly turning to these illicit substances, especially when treating soldiers who have been on the frontlines and who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result. This was confirmed for Deutsche Welle (DW) by several people for DW in different conversations.
Legalization by the Ukrainian Parliament
Experts in Ukraine are putting political pressure on the country's parliament to facilitate the possibility of treatment with these substances. One of them, the director of the Center for the Treatment of War Veterans, Yelena Voznitsina, said in a statement to DW that the parliament should "determine the concrete steps that should be taken to make psychedelic therapy available in Ukraine."
Psychedelics, like cannabis, are on the list of prohibited drugs and are not included in treatment protocols for, for example, PTSD. "We want to change that," says Wozniacki.
She is convinced of the success of such an approach, especially now, during the war in Ukraine: "A conventional psychotherapy session lasts an hour, two at most. A person with psychological trauma needs many such sessions. Because of this, therapy is often stretched over a year or two.
"Psychedelic-assisted therapy" could, he claims, help speed up the healing process. "This is important because, due to the war, we are faced with complicated cases that cannot be treated with conventional treatment," says Voznicina.
At the same time, she emphasizes that "psychedelics do not treat, but therapy". Thus, psychotherapy that takes place while the patient is under the influence of a drug such as psilocybin, which is found in psychotropic mushrooms. Or MDMA, also known as ecstasy, ketamine or other substances.
Such therapy, emphasizes the Ukrainian doctor, must be carried out in medical centers. It lasts up to eight hours and requires the control and supervision of professional psychotherapists.
The lobby for the use of drugs in therapy is growing
Supporters and opponents of such treatments have been fighting over this for many years. Supporters face fierce resistance from traditionalists – but the lobby for the use of drugs in psychotherapy is growing, especially in the US. Supporters also have a powerful ally: the veterans' organizations of the US armed forces. The US Department of Veterans Affairs also supports the use of MDMA in the treatment of PTSD. Basically, experts expect that such a therapy will be approved for the first time as soon as next year, in 2024.
It would be a decision with potentially far-reaching consequences for other, previously illegal substances. Because, the question arises: why should one be approved and the other remain prohibited? And it is also a fact that doctors all over the world are working on numerous studies on the use of these previously prohibited substances.
The legalization of MDMA in psychotherapy gained momentum with the publication of a "phase III study" in the American scientific journal "Nature". Successful studies in the so-called Phase III trials are often the last necessary step before a drug is approved. A "safety and efficacy" study of MDMA concluded that the substance "reduces PTSD symptoms and functional impairment in a diverse population with moderate to severe PTSD and is generally well tolerated."
Research on this is also being conducted in Europe. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is currently conducting four studies on the use of MDMA and one on the use of LSD. Also, there are "eleven clinical trials in the EU with psilocybin," EMA Director Imer Cook replied last March in response to a cross-party question by a member of the European Parliament. The letter also added: I would like to inform you that the EMA recognizes the need to support those developing psychedelics and is working with them to do so."
A study with psilocybin from mushrooms in Germany is coming to an end
Next spring, a study on psilocybin therapy from mushrooms, the so-called "Magic Mushrooms", will be completed in Germany. "We are testing the efficacy and safety of psilocybin in treatment-resistant depression," says the head of the research team, Gerhard Grinder, in an interview with DW. This psychiatrist and psychotherapist works as a professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Mannheim.
"What I can say right now is that we are seeing good results in a number of patients," says Grinder. However, it does not help many, which is mainly due to the fact that the subjects have suffered from very severe depression for a long time. The bottom line: "We want to treat the earlier stages of the disease," Grinder says.
While the use of MDMA in war veterans' trauma therapy has shown demonstrable success, Grinder is critical of the use of other substances. In an interview with DW, he says that MDMA does not belong to the group of psychedelics. Substances such as psilocybin from mushrooms "are not used in most clinical studies for post-traumatic stress disorders, because there is a fear of re-traumatization," explains the German doctor.
He also criticizes therapy in the midst of war: "Doing something like that in war-torn zones is ethically very, very questionable."
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