New York—Today, Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) President and CEO Dr. Kevin Sabet submitted testimony opposing commercial expansion related to the medicinal value of psilocybin for the Standing Committee on Health hearing at the New York State Assembly.
The testimony focused on the following issues:
- Current research on psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin, is deeply flawed for a number of reasons. One of the most glaring is that “blinding” participants from knowing what treatment they received is near-impossible due to the intense mind-altering effects of these drugs. This significant limitation would not pass FDA scrutiny; in fact, the psychedelic MDMA did not for this very reason. Additionally, a high-profile study on the efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) found that psychedelics like psilocybin were not more effective than traditional antidepressants.
- Psilocybin use itself can lead to physical and mental health problems, including psychosis and suicide. One specific and notable effect is Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) which entails reexperiencing the hallucinogenic effect of psychedelics. A high-profile incident involving HPPD happened to an Alaska Airlines pilot while he was in the cockpit of a plane.
“The push to unleash psilocybin into medicine is not informed by science, but by profit,” said Dr. Sabet. “By no means should public policy be outsourced to individuals with the deepest pockets at the expense of public health and safety. If psychedelic proponents are confident that their products can be helpful, then they would happily follow the protocols in place to prove as such—especially FDA approval. We should not allow even a single guardrail to be compromised in any way.”
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