Scientists Get Support to Study Mind-Changing Drugs for Medicine

President Trump signed an order in April to speed up research on psychedelic drugs. These powerful mind-changing drugs could help treat serious mental illness. The government will give $50 million to support this research. Scientists in Boston are excited about this new support for their work.

Psychedelic drugs have been illegal for medical use for many years. The government has always said these drugs are dangerous and have no medical value. But now scientists think they might help people with depression, PTSD, and other mental health problems. The new order shows the government is willing to change its mind about these drugs.

Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum works at Massachusetts General Hospital studying psychedelics. He said the field has been ignored for decades because of how these drugs are classified. The new support feels like a big boost for scientists doing this work. He thinks this could lead to important discoveries about treating mental illness.

The Food and Drug Administration gave special vouchers to three companies. Two companies are studying psilocybin, which comes from magic mushrooms, to treat depression. A third company is studying a drug similar to MDMA to help people with PTSD. The FDA also allowed a study of ibogaine to treat alcohol addiction.

Right now, almost all psychedelic drugs are called Schedule 1 substances. This means the government says they have no medical use and are very dangerous. This classification makes it very hard for scientists to study them. Dr. Rosenbaum said his team needs police to escort even one pill from one building to another.

The new order doesn't change how psychedelics are classified. But it shows the government is more open to studying them as treatments. Scientists hope this will lead to easier rules for doing research. They also hope to get some of the $50 million in funding.

Dr. Yvan Beaussant at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute studies psychedelics for cancer patients. He said cancer patients often suffer from deep emotional pain that regular treatments can't help. There aren't many good tools to help with the fear and sadness that comes with having cancer. Psychedelic therapy might be able to help these patients in new ways.