Interest in the use of psychedelic substances, such as the popular “magic mushrooms”, in medicine has grown in recent years. Although there are reports of success in treating depression with these alkaloids, the medical use of these substances has not yet been approved by regulatory bodies, while the academic community advances in its research.
In Uruguay, Arché was established, an interdisciplinary research group on psychedelics composed of the University of the Republic, Claeh University and the Clemente Estable Research Institute, as reported by El País. Psychologist María Perengo highlights the need for academia to send the message of that it is essential to investigate and, subsequently, use psychedelics more widely in traditional medicine.
In just over five years, Arché has conducted 33 academic studies on the three psychedelics most sought after by patients: psilocybin (the main component of “magic mushrooms”), ibogaine and ayahuasca.
Before a drug is approved for marketing, it goes through four phases of clinical trials, from initial tests with volunteers to monitoring its effects on the majority of the population. Psychedelics are still in the early stages of these clinical trials.
“The majority did not go beyond phase I or II, with two exceptions: psilocybin in the treatment of depression in patients resistant to conventional treatment and people with potentially lethal diseases, such as cancer, who are in phase three”, explains Perengo.
The third phase of the clinical trial is the last before marketing authorization is granted. In this way, the number of patients receiving the substance increases, and efficacy measures are refined.
Uruguay is at the forefront of using magic mushrooms to treat depression. Some members of the Arché group are conducting a phase II study, but are awaiting a resolution from the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) to approve a protocol defined by the researchers and move forward.
Frank Lozano, one of the group’s members, tells the Uruguayan newspaper that, although the use of magic mushrooms is a “promising intervention”, the selection of the population that consumes the substance “has been exhaustive”.
One of the risks of accessing magic mushrooms is that, in many cases, users do not receive adequate instructions for consumption. Juan Scuro, another member of Arché, mentions that there is a kind of “fantasy projection” that psychedelic substances will cure all ills, and in the academic group, they promote “caution”.
No drug regulatory agency has approved the use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes. However, currently, Brazilian businesspeople are interested in importing ibogaine to treat drug addiction in hospitals in Uruguay, as reported by El País at the beginning of the month. These substances are already offered in some clinics, taking advantage of loopholes in national regulations.
The MSP is analyzing a document presented by Marco Algorta, a businessman who intends to set up the Beneva Clinic in the country. “Faced with the enormous problem of the abuse of hard drugs, such as basepaste, ibogaine treatments bring an innovation: addiction is treated as a symptom and not as a disease in itself. This allows you to interrupt abstinence, the desire to continue using drugs and, at the same time, allows you to give new meaning to problems that preceded addiction,” he declared.
The businessman delivered a legal report to the Uruguayan health authority stating that the import of the substance for medical purposes is legal, and, therefore, it would not be necessary to make regulatory adjustments. However, the MSP is studying the matter, but does not expect to have a response in the short term.
