Connect
MJA
MJA

Psilocybin-assisted therapy for anxiety and depression: implications for euthanasia

Nigel Strauss
Med J Aust 2017; 206 (11): . || doi: 10.5694/mja17.00081
Published online: 19 June 2017

Contemporary research suggests potential benefits of psychedelic drugs in treatment-resistant depression and terminally ill patients

Despite their stigmatisation, psychedelic drugs are once again being clinically researched in Europe and North America. This long-awaited renaissance is showing very promising results and, unlike the pioneering research that occurred before these drugs were outlawed over 30 years ago, the current methodology is rigorous and of a very high standard.


  • Millswyn Clinic, Melbourne, VIC


Correspondence: drnigel@bigpond.net.au

Acknowledgements: 

I thank Martin Williams for his assistance in the preparation and revision of this manuscript.

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

  • 1. Mithoefer MC, Wagner MT, Mithoefer AT, et al. Durability of improvement in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and absence of harmful effects or drug dependency after 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy: a prospective long-term follow-up study. J Psychopharmacol 2013; 27: 28-39.
  • 2. Carhart-Harris RL, Bolstridge M, Rucker J, et al. Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. Lancet Psychiatry 2016; 3: 619-627.
  • 3. Ross S, Bossin A, Guss J, et al. Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial. J Psychopharmacol 2016; 30: 1165-1180.
  • 4. Griffiths RR, Johnson MW, Carducci MA, et al. Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized double-blind trial. J Psychopharmacol 2016; 30: 1181-1197.
  • 5. Widera E, Block S. Managing grief and depression at the end of life. Am Fam Physician 2012; 86: 259-264.
  • 6. Hasler F, Grimberg U, Benz MA, et al. Acute psychological and physiological effects of psilocybin in healthy humans: a double-blind, placebo-controlled dose-effect study. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2004; 172: 145-156.
  • 7. Hofmann A. LSD: my problem child. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2013.
  • 8. Pahnke WM. Drugs and mysticism: an analysis of the relationship between psychedelic drugs and the mystical consciousness. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1963.
  • 9. Miller WR. The phenomenon of quantum change. J Clin Psychol 2004; 60: 453-460.
  • 10. Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. The economic cost of serious mental illness and comorbidities in Australia and New Zealand. Melbourne: RANZCP, 2016. https://www.ranzcp.org/Files/Publications/RANZCP-Serious-Mental-Illness.aspx (accessed Apr 2017).
  • 11. Thienpont L, Verhofstadt M, Van Loon T, et al. Euthanasia requests, procedures and outcomes for 100 Belgian patients suffering from psychiatric disorders: a retrospective, descriptive study. BMJ Open 2015; 5: e007454.
  • 12. Emanuel E. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide: focus on the data. Med J Aust 2017; 206: 339-340. <MJA full text>

Author

remove_circle_outline Delete Author
add_circle_outline Add Author

Comment
Do you have any competing interests to declare? *

I/we agree to assign copyright to the Medical Journal of Australia and agree to the Conditions of publication *
I/we agree to the Terms of use of the Medical Journal of Australia *
Email me when people comment on this article

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.