ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Over the past decade, interest has grown in the medical use of psychedelics such as mushrooms to treat medical conditions including anxiety and depression.
A bill introduced this year in New Jersey called the “Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Act” would decriminalize the use of the chemical found in magic mushrooms, called psilocybin, for medical use.
"There's a lot of questions here, like should it be available for people to have as a prescription that they take home with them? Should it be available only in a clinic setting?"Dr. Jeremy Teissere, Stanley Rode professor of neuroscience at Muhlenberg College
"No one really has a clinical standard for how to bring psychedelics into the clinic in this way," said Dr. Jeremy Teissere, Stanley Rode professor of neuroscience at Muhlenberg College.
Teissere is a molecular pharmacologist and studies the molecular basis of how drugs work.
"But there is good data that suggests that they do reduce anxiety and they can be effective in removing trauma and or some of the mood changes that accompany trauma."
He said neuroscientists are studying the psychedelic psilocybin and how it affects the brain, but there are many things to consider before making it legal and available to the public.
"There's a lot of questions here, like should it be available for people to have as a prescription that they take home with them? Should it be available only in a clinic setting?" Teissere said.
"If it's in a clinic setting, what should it look like? Should there be couches? Who's in the room with people while they take the psilocybin."
Compared to other prescriptions
Teissere said many of those questions don't have answers at this time because there's no long-term studies or data on the topic.
"No one really has a clinical standard for how to bring psychedelics into the clinic in this way,” he said.
"There is good data that suggests that they do reduce anxiety and they can be effective in removing trauma and or some of the mood changes that accompany trauma."Dr. Jeremy Teissere, Stanley Rode professor of neuroscience, Muhlenberg College
“But there is good data that suggests that they do reduce anxiety and they can be effective in removing trauma and or some of the mood changes that accompany trauma."
He said psilocybin works on serotonin, though scientists are not exactly sure of how.
It’s similar to classic selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, such as Paxil, Zoloft and Prozac, but Teissere said psilocybin doesn't show the same negative side effects.
“For example, it would not have sexual side effects, it would not cause weight gain, it likely would not involve sleep wake sleeping disturbances, and these are common side effects of SSRIs,” he said.
Microdosing with magic mushrooms also is being looked at by medical professionals as a way to treat some mental health issues.
“Even at very, very, very small doses, you still see a modest effect on anxiety reduction as a result of the psilocybin,” Teissere said.
"At the microdosing level, we're talking about a dose that's low enough that you're not having any psychedelic effect whatsoever. There it feels much safer to make the drug available by prescription, because you're not having a psychedelic effect."
Cannabis paving the way
There's speculation that legalizing medical marijuana may speed up the process for other drugs such as magic mushrooms.
However, Teissere said the two are vastly different and cautioned about a quick release to the public.
"With respect to cannabis and psilocybin, they still remain completely illegal."Dr. Jeremy Teissere, Stanley Rode professor of neuroscience, Muhlenberg College
“So I think the biggest negative side effect, ironically, for something we're hoping will treat anxiety, is panic," he said. "Not because the drug itself in a certain way is working on our panic machinery, but because we're changing state of consciousness so profoundly, that panic is a logical result of that profound change."
Teissere said planning out the treatment and how it will be administered is what those studying the drug are currently working on.
In 2020, Oregon was the first state to pass a law legalizing psilocybin, he said, and studies still are underway there.
He said those taking psychedelic, both medically and recreationally, should do so under supervision.
"I really want professionals in the room who are trained to work with panic when it develops and who can anticipate the needs of those who might panic and try to minimize those negative side effects,” Teissere said. “I think we need to be clear that federal laws have not changed, with respect to cannabis and psilocybin, they still remain completely illegal, and the penalties for possession or distribution are still substantial."
Under New Jersey's proposed bill, anyone 21 and older would be able to use mushrooms.
