The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelics such as psilocybin and ibogaine is a “top priority” for the Trump administration, especially when it comes to helping military veterans grapple with trauma from being sent to fight “unnecessary wars.”
There appears to be strong momentum behind the push for psychedelic therapy access at top levels of the administration, and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary’s new comments emphasizing the need to cut red tape while undertaking “an expeditious and rapid review” toward federal approval is one of the latest examples.
“When it comes to some of these psychedelics and other plant-based therapies, I don’t think we’re listening to patients,” he said during an interview with NewsNation that aired on Saturday . “I don’t think the medical establishment is listening to doctors. When I listen to the individuals who have tried some of these for real medical conditions—post-traumatic stress disorder, severe refractory depression—people tell me that they believe that psilocybin was successful. It was a curative, or significantly helped, their severe mood disorder.”
The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelics such as psilocybin and ibogaine is a “top priority” for the Trump administration, especially when it comes to helping military veterans grapple with trauma from being sent to fight “unnecessary wars.”
There appears to be strong momentum behind the push for psychedelic therapy access at top levels of the administration, and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary’s new comments emphasizing the need to cut red tape while undertaking “an expeditious and rapid review” toward federal approval is one of the latest examples.
“When it comes to some of these psychedelics and other plant-based therapies, I don’t think we’re listening to patients,” he said during an interview with NewsNation that aired on Saturday . “I don’t think the medical establishment is listening to doctors. When I listen to the individuals who have tried some of these for real medical conditions—post-traumatic stress disorder, severe refractory depression—people tell me that they believe that psilocybin was successful. It was a curative, or significantly helped, their severe mood disorder.”
“People have told me that other psychedelics, like MDMA, have been helpful in treating PTSD. Doctors have told me that they’ve sent patients for this therapy,” Makary said. “Ibogaine has been used to treat PTSD. There are trials now looking at it for traumatic brain injury—things we have had nothing for in the past. What have we had to treat traumatic brain injury and PTSD that has really had great results up until this time?”
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