Three Things To Read This Weekend

1) “Psilocybin Can Alleviate Severe Depression When Used With Therapy: Nearly one-third of patients in the largest trial using the psychedelic compound went into rapid remission”— Ian Sample writes in The Guardian about a new study published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine:

“The most significant impact was in those on the highest 25mg dose of psilocybin. Three weeks after having the drug, 29% of this group were in remission.” For context, the study’s lead author, Dr. Guy Goodwin, told The Guardian, “Response rates [for] treatment-resistant depression are usually between 10 and 20%, [but] we are seeing remission rates at three weeks of about 30%, [which is] a very satisfactory outcome.” In other words, psilocybin isn’t a magic cure for depression, but it could be a significant improvement over currently available treatments. This is the latest in a string of promising research results into psilocybin’s therapeutic potential.

2) “It was as if he’d put on prescription glasses after a lifetime without them.” 

Ahead of Tuesday’s election, the Redmond Spokesman’s Nick Rosenberger spotlights Oregon military veterans and a firefighter who credit psilocybin for transforming their mental health when nothing else worked. A key theme in the article is the importance of local access to treatment—a question that’s on the ballot on Tuesday in some Oregon cities and counties (voters authorized access to psilocybin treatment in 2020, but local residents can pass “opt-out” measures to ban treatment centers within their borders). Here are two key excerpts:

“‘All I wanted to do was kill myself,’ [U.S. Army Veteran James Jarvis] said. ‘I felt like a zombie.’ … Prescription pill bottles filled [his] cabinet …. but none seemed to help … Psilocybin treatment centers … offer an alternative that some veterans say gives them the independence to help themselves — without the endless pills and their side effects… [For Jarvis, psilocybin treatment] felt like he was dosed with the strongest antidepressant possible … ‘You don’t realize how bad your vision is until you put those glasses on,’ he said…. ‘I feel better.’”

…

“After using psilocybin to deal with trauma from combat and his job as a first responder, [Jeff, a local firefighter] said it’s like putting aloe vera on a burn and getting instant relief. The benefits, he said, continued for months after taking a dose.”

3) “I don’t know if psilocybin would have saved Maddie’s life. But I wish she could have tried it.” 

On Tuesday, Coloradans vote on the Natural Medicine Health Act, which  would immediately provide adults over 21 with access to psilocybin-based treatment;  give state health regulators power to approve other natural medicines; and remove criminal penalties for possessing some natural substances like psilocybin. Writing in The Daily Camera, Nick Billings, a Denver resident and father of three, explains how his family history with alcoholism and depression led him to support the Natural Medicine Health Act: 

“When my father committed suicide decades ago, he didn’t have prescription medication or psychotherapy to help him with his alcoholism and depression. When the big black waves later hit me and others in my family, we were fortunate that traditional medication and therapy were available — and helpful. But things were tragically different for Maddie. Madeleine Mae Billings, our oldest daughter, died last December at age 23 of anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder … Nothing worked. 

“In the weeks before she passed, Maddie submitted an application for a clinical trial at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic Research. Hopkins, NYU, UCLA and other premier research institutions around the world are posting groundbreaking results showing psilocybin as a potentially effective mental health treatment for those who have exhausted all hope …Psilocybin has helped veterans with PTSD, terminally ill patients and people struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction and other mental issues when traditional treatments have failed … I don’t know if psilocybin would have saved Maddie’s life. But I wish she could have tried it …”