NEWS
Britain faces mental health crisis post-pandemic, novel psilocybin treatments needed
The Adam Smith Institute and the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group call for a review of the Schedule 1 status of psilocybin in this new paper.
Millions of Brits have endured social isolation, stressful working conditions, and lack of family contact, and other stressful or depression-inducing circumstances due to the ongoing pandemic, lockdown measures, and the associated economic crisis. Britain faces a mental health time bomb, says the free market think tank the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) and policy group the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group (CDPRG).
A new paper, co-released by the Adam Smith Institute and the Conservative Drugs Policy Reform Group and authored by leading researchers from King’s College London, and the University of Manchester, argues that the rescheduling of psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, could help avert a looming mental health crisis.
The paper has been sent to the Home Office accompanied by statements of support from leading scientists.
The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 deems psilocybin, along with many other potentially revolutionary medicines, harmful and lacking medical potential. This classification is erroneous, the scientists say.
Crispin Blunt MP, who chairs CDRPG, says that this, coupled with the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, means a “cross-hatching of prohibitive scheduling” that “has led to a scientific blackout lasting nigh on fifty years, precluding new treatments and, with them, the prospect of a better life for millions of people.”
Thousands of men and women from the armed forces, policing and front line medical staff are suffering from psychological injuries incurred through service to their country. The country has walked away from these brave individuals, the think tank warns as it calls for innovative new approaches.
Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, is found naturally in over 100 species of fungi. It induces temporary changes in mood, perception and cognition via activation of serotonin receptors in the brain. Although it is commonly seen as a recreational drug, a growing body of peer-reviewed academic research indicates that it works well against treatment resistant depression. Depression affects an estimated 1.2 million adults in the UK and is a leading cause of suicide.
This could not only improve the lives of those suffering this debilitating mental illness, but could also save the NHS billions and contribute substantially to the British economy. Mental illness costs the UK economy £94 billion per annum. Beyond the direct impacts on personal health, mental illnesses can reduce disposable income, financial security and workforce participation. Depression alone costs the UK an estimated £10bn a year from cost of treatment and lost employment.
Together the researchers, CDPRG and the ASI propose the movement psilocybin to Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 on a research only model. They argue in the report that the rescheduling of psilocybin will reduce the current barriers to research, enabling the sorely needed exploration of fresh mental health treatments by the UK’s scientists.
“Brits have faced months of isolation under lockdown and we’re only beginning to understand the consequences for not only our physical but also our mental health. Even before Covid-19, an estimated 1.2 million of us were battling against treatment-resistant depression. There hasn’t been a breakthrough in depression research for decades. By rescheduling psilocybin we have a chance to put Britain at the forefront of research, and change millions of lives for the better."
(Dan Pryor, Head of Programmes, ASI)
Rescheduling psilocybin can reduce the absurdly high costs, extended research timelines and stigma that needlessly characterise the process of researching Schedule 1 substances with medicinal potential. Removing these barriers will equip the UK to develop world-leading mental health treatments that are more effective and more cost-effective than current responses, enabling the UK to fulfil its potential as a global centre of excellence in mental health and life sciences research.
The authors argue that psilocybin’s current inclusion in Schedule 1 of the 2001 Regulations follows an outdated assumption of harmfulness, implicit in its Class A status, which is not supported by the current evidence base. Controlled drugs may be rescheduled by a Statutory Instrument implemented by the Home Secretary, on the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), without affecting existing legal controls on non-medical or scientific use, and there is a precedent for rescheduling controlled drugs before market authorization.
Progress in the treatment of depression has been slow. Prior to the approval of esketamine by the European Commission in late 2019, the last major advancement in the treatment of depression came over 30 years ago with the licensing of SSRIs.
Psilocybin will fundamentally improve the treatment of mental health conditions. Psilocybin works in a different way to traditional antidepressants and psychological therapies, by directly increasing activity and changing patterns of connectivity in brain regions strongly associated with ongoing depression and anxiety.
Psilocybin’s current Schedule 1 status is at odds with its low toxicity. Compass Pathways recently completed the largest ever randomised study of psilocybin, in collaboration with Dr James Rucker and Professor Allan Young at King’s College London. The study found that psilocybin caused no statistically significant worsening of cognitive and emotional measures, no serious adverse events and no adverse events that led to withdrawal from the study. This is the strongest evidence yet for the basic safety profile of psilocybin, and the best evidence yet to justify ongoing, large scale research in patient populations.
Moving psilocybin to Schedule 2 could kick-start the UK’s flagging mental health research field. The UK presently has no active pharmaceutical laboratories doing central nervous system research and development outside of universities since Eli Lilly closed their site in Surrey in March 2020.
Statements from the paper authors
Dr. James Rucker, Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist and Senior Clinical Lecturer in mood disorders and psychopharmacology at the Centre for Affective Disorders at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
“Major depression is common and deadly. It is associated with nearly half of all suicides in the UK and is a leading cause of disability and socioeconomic burden worldwide. About a third of people suffering with major depression don’t get better with standard drug and psychological treatments. Good quality, small scale clinical trials have indicated that psilocybin therapy is an effective new treatment for those people.
We now need to perform large scale trials to confirm this. However, psilocybin is designated a ‘Schedule 1’ drug by the UK Government. This makes large scale clinical trials very difficult and very expensive to conduct. Schedule 1 designation is unnecessary because psilocybin is not dangerous and not addictive when compared to other drugs. Therefore, we are asking the UK Government to review the Schedule of psilocybin, so that we can work more efficiently to bring a potential new treatment to patients who are suffering, and dying, every day with major depression.”
David King, Director of Research at the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group (CDPRG) and a final year graduate medical student at King's College London. (Corresponding Author)
“There are more than a million depressed adults in the UK today whose illness does not get better with antidepressants. Almost one in three of these people will attempt suicide. My mother was one of them - she took her own life in 2013 after struggling with mental illness for decades. I speak from experience when I say that the impact on patients and their families is tremendous.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical interest in developing new drugs for depression has completely dried up - with one notable exception. Psilocybin-assisted therapies are being investigated, and the evidence suggests that they may work where other treatments have failed. One might think that the UK Government would be supporting this vital research however possible, but the opposite is true.
Despite substantial evidence of safety, and with no known association between psilocybin and crime, it is controlled by UK law under the strictest possible regulations. While these regulations do not prohibit research, they make it far more difficult. Parliament has known about these barriers to research for 20 years, but no progress has been made. We cannot afford to wait any longer. The Government has an ethical duty to support mental health research by rescheduling psilocybin, urgently.”
Dr. Jesse Schnall, medical doctor in Melbourne, Australia, former visiting student, University of Oxford.
“Every person deserves access to good healthcare. Rescheduling psilocybin is safe, effective and achievable today. When we discover a tool to help people who are suffering, we must use it. When the law no longer reflects the evidence, we must change it.”
Dr. Daniel D’Hotman, Australian Rhodes Scholar and medical doctor, currently completing a DPhil on the ethics and politics of using AI for suicide prevention at the University of Oxford.
“People with mental health issues deserve the same high quality care as any patient. But for some people, including many former service men and women with PTSD, all existing treatments fail. Psilocybin has shown great potential to help these patients. Yet its Schedule 1 status is holding back research. Rescheduling psilocybin would restore fairness to the regulatory environment, and give British scientists every chance of providing a new therapy that can reduce suffering for those who are in need."
Timmy Davis, Psilocybin Rescheduling Project Manager and researcher at the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group (CDPRG) and is undertaking psychoanalytic training with the SITE for Contemporary Psychoanalysis.
“Modern research is showing psilocybin to be a safe and effective psychiatric intervention, lending scientific credence to the voices of those who have espoused its psychotherapeutic properties for decades. Depression has been the target chosen to indicate its promise but psilocybin’s potential lies in its applicability across numerous clinical categories; a list including depression, post traumatic stress disorder, alcohol use disorder, nicotine addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder and anorexia nervosa is by no means exhaustive. While psilocybin remains in Schedule 1 these lines of research and others are unjustifiably stifled. The expedited rescheduling of psilocybin could save and improve numerous lives, alleviating the suffering of millions of individuals living with myriad mental health conditions, as well as furthering the UK’s reputation as leading the world in psychedelic research."
Prof. Jo Neill, Professor of Psychopharmacology in the Manchester Pharmacy School at the University of Manchester.
“Psychedelic Medicine can provide an effective therapy for many hard to treat conditions, such as PTSD, refractory depression, addiction, and potentially many other disorders. More research is urgently required to enable our understanding of how these drugs work and how they can best be used for patient benefit. Current drug scheduling restrictions hinder this research, creating time delays, significant costs, and unnecessary bureaucracy. None of these restrictions applies to Schedule 2 drugs. Rescheduling will enable Psychedelics Research, and ensure that the UK’s Life Sciences sector becomes an international leader.”
To arrange interviews with Corresponding Author Dave King and with press enquiries for the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group, please contact press@cdprg.co.uk
With press enquiries for the Adam Smith Institute, please contact matt@adamsmith.org (07904099599)
Ad ban plan won't help Britain battle the bulge
After news was released of Boris Johnson planning to ban ads for Britain’s favourite foods on telly and online, Daniel Pryor takes to task the idea that it will help Britain battle the bulge:
"Politicians might find TV ads annoying, but the revenues they generate help fund our favourite shows. Banning junk food ads before watershed would give us worse TV and do nothing to improve the nation's health. A large body of evidence shows that advertising doesn't brainwash us into buying things we don't want. Instead it works by boosting specific brands, like encouraging people who fancy a takeaway to choose Wagamama over Nando's. Since there's no legal definition of junk food, the proposed ban would include virtually all fruit juice, raisins, hummus, most cheeses and more. Public health nannies might want to treat us all like brainwashed children, but we should reject them and their half-baked nonsense."
For further comment or to arrange an interview, please contact Matt Kilcoyne on 07904099599 or email matt@adamsmith.org
Giving a stamp of approval to a good tax cut
The Adam Smith Institute has cautiously welcomed most of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s summer statement. Matthew Lesh, Head of Research, said:
"Stamp duty is Britain’s worst tax. The cut is the right move to get Britain moving. Temporary measures to get young people work experience, to build inwork skills, are also welcome in the face of an increasing minimum wage.
“Furlough continues for a few more months but reality will hit eventually. In the forthcoming Budget, the Chancellor should cut the cost of hiring by permanently reducing the burden of employers’ national insurance, remove red tape like occupational licenses, and abolish the factory tax to get businesses investing in their futures.
“The stimulus proposals are very questionable. The VAT cut and subsidising restaurants will be expensive and provide limited benefit. People aren’t spending on food, accomodation and attractions because of safety concerns, not lack of demand or cash.”
To arrange an interview, or further comment please contact Matt Kilcoyne on 07904099599 or email matt@adamsmith.org
Media contact:
emily@adamsmith.org
Media phone: 07584778207
Archive
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- January 2021
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007