As someone who invests in psychedelic-assisted therapy companies and follows the space pretty closely, I am shaking my head at some of the comments here. A lot of anecdotal stories wrapped up as "wise" warnings against psychedelic use. Recreational use does not apply in this clinical setting context, at all. Nor can it be extrapolated back to a recreational scenario. Granted, the title of this article reads click bait-y and I can see why there were visceral reactions. Additionally, the article lacks some context which I'll try to provide.
I've been following Compass Pathways for about a year now, and what I can tell you is this:
1. The purpose of this study was NOT to prove psilocybin has no deleterious effects in healthy subjects. It's purpose is as a supplementary/complementary study to their ongoing clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Basically, the more "ammo" they have surrounding psilocybin's safety the better, as they are headed into meetings with the FDA on their upcoming phase 3 trials.
2. The second purpose of this study was to prove that one therapist can administer doses to multiple patients at the same time. Cost is a huge, ongoing concern for commercialization in this space. To have a therapist watch over one patient for a 6-8 hour trip makes this treatment difficult to scale, and this gives Compass possibly a little more leeway and broadening in their treatment protocol.
3. Mystical type experiences are currently believed to bring about a greater chance of positive outcome in patients treated with psychedelic-assisted therapy. This is NOT dictated by what you thought was a "mystical" experience - it is determined by the MEQ (Mystical Experience Questionnaire) that is sometimes administers in these studies.
4. "Healthy" subjects - please keep in mind that in this context, the definition is narrow and shouldn't be interpreted in any way other than what the trials' inclusion/exclusion criteria listed. In these studies, it usually means no history of mental illness, ESPECIALLY schizophrenia. Beware of applying "healthy" to any other marker.
5. I urge people here to read Compass' recently completed phase IIb study on treatment-resistant depression (= patients who've failed at least 2 antidepressants). There absolutely are mild adverse - serious adverse events that occur, even in controlled and supportive settings. Please take this current studies statement as strictly as it reads "The results also showed there were no short or long term detrimental effects on thinking patterns or processing of emotions".
I've been following Compass Pathways for about a year now, and what I can tell you is this:
1. The purpose of this study was NOT to prove psilocybin has no deleterious effects in healthy subjects. It's purpose is as a supplementary/complementary study to their ongoing clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Basically, the more "ammo" they have surrounding psilocybin's safety the better, as they are headed into meetings with the FDA on their upcoming phase 3 trials.
2. The second purpose of this study was to prove that one therapist can administer doses to multiple patients at the same time. Cost is a huge, ongoing concern for commercialization in this space. To have a therapist watch over one patient for a 6-8 hour trip makes this treatment difficult to scale, and this gives Compass possibly a little more leeway and broadening in their treatment protocol.
3. Mystical type experiences are currently believed to bring about a greater chance of positive outcome in patients treated with psychedelic-assisted therapy. This is NOT dictated by what you thought was a "mystical" experience - it is determined by the MEQ (Mystical Experience Questionnaire) that is sometimes administers in these studies.
4. "Healthy" subjects - please keep in mind that in this context, the definition is narrow and shouldn't be interpreted in any way other than what the trials' inclusion/exclusion criteria listed. In these studies, it usually means no history of mental illness, ESPECIALLY schizophrenia. Beware of applying "healthy" to any other marker.
5. I urge people here to read Compass' recently completed phase IIb study on treatment-resistant depression (= patients who've failed at least 2 antidepressants). There absolutely are mild adverse - serious adverse events that occur, even in controlled and supportive settings. Please take this current studies statement as strictly as it reads "The results also showed there were no short or long term detrimental effects on thinking patterns or processing of emotions".