Psychedelics for Substance Dependence

Psychedelics have shown promise for dependence on a number of substances for decades. Psilocybin has shown promise for alcohol, cocaine, and nicotine dependence. Researchers at Johns Hopkins recently received the first psychedelic therapy federal grant in 50 years to study psilocybin for quitting smoking. MDMA, in a small trial, showed promise for treating alcoholism. There have also been numerous reports that ayahuasca may hold promise for alcoholism and other substance dependence. Meanwhile, ibogaine is already being used to treat opioid and heroin dependence in countries such as New Zealand and Mexico. And decades ago, prior to the ban on psychedelics, LSD showed promise for substance use. Given all of this data, which psychedelics might be the most useful for dependence on which substances? And how is this all working? Are psychedelics treating the substance use itself, or, perhaps, an underlying mental health condition, such as trauma, which is causing use of the substance in the first place? We discuss all this and more with Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu. As always, there will be time for questions from our community at the end.