Law enforcement seizures of psychedelic mushrooms skyrocket; Could psychedelics lead to better sex? And will CA be the next state to launch a psychedelics program?
Plus: First patient in French psilocybin clinical trial and a psychoactive molecule patent in China
Happy Friday and welcome back to The Microdose, an independent journalism newsletter brought to you by the U.C. Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.
Law enforcement seizures of psychedelic mushrooms skyrocket
Psilocybin has made headlines as researchers study it in clinical trials, and states like Oregon and Colorado have adopted state-regulated programs for its use. But despite growing excitement, the drug is still illegal federally, and most people who use it or psychedelic Psilocybe mushrooms are violating laws. To understand the prevalence of mushroom use, public health researchers at New York University, University of Florida, and Columbia University collaborated with the Office of National Drug Control Policy to analyze data about law enforcement seizures of psychedelic mushrooms across the U.S., which increased 369% between the first quarter of 2017 and the last quarter of 2022.
The study was published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence on Tuesday. During those five years, officials made 4,526 seizures, collecting a total of 4380 kilograms of the fungus. Most of those seizures were made in the Midwest; Ohio leads the country with the highest number of seizures as well as the largest increase in seizures over the studied time period. “Seizures of shrooms have increased in the US, suggesting that availability or supply may be escalating,” the authors write. “Given a rapidly shifting legal landscape coupled with increasing media coverage and potential for expanded commercialism in an area in which the drug is becoming legal, it is important to monitor psilocybin availability, use, and adverse effects linked to use, to understand the commonality of exposure, and to inform both prevention and harm reduction efforts.”
Could psychedelics lead to better sex?
Some antidepressants are known to decrease libido — do psychedelics do the same? To investigate that question, researchers at Imperial College London and University of California, San Francisco surveyed a total of over 300 people about their drug use and their sex lives. Around 260 of those surveyed were taking psychedelics for recreation or general well-being; another 59 had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and were also participating in a clinical trial comparing psilocybin’s efficacy to that of the antidepressant escitalopram.
Their results, published in Scientific Reports, showed that both groups reported that psilocybin resulted in positive changes in their sexual functioning. Those who used psilocybin recreationally or for well-being reported improved pleasure and communication during sex, as well as satisfaction with their partner and their own physical appearance. Those in the psilocybin clinical trial showed improvements in those same categories. Participants in the same study who were taking escitalopram did not.
Both escitalopram and psilocybin (as well as other psychedelics, like LSD and MDMA) stimulate the body’s serotonin receptors, which researchers believe can decrease libido, potentially through changing hormone and neurotransmitter production that correlate with arousal. The fact that escitalopram seemed to decrease sexual functioning while psilocybin and other psychedelics did not “could be explained by their differing mechanism of action in treating major depressive disorder,” the authors write.
More specifically, these results suggest what helps people’s depression — and possibly their libido, too — is less about the drugs’ physical effect on the body, and more about the mindset shift that often accompanies their use. “We speculate that the results obtained from both studies might be explained by the capacity of classic psychedelics (and relatedly psilocybin-assisted therapy) to foster long-term improvements in mindfulness capacities and connectedness with significant others, consequently impacting sexual satisfaction,” the authors write. “Furthermore, psychedelics appear to promote durable feelings of connection towards self and others, increased willingness to accept and let go of one’s emotions, and decreased ruminative thinking.”
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California could be the next state to launch a psychedelic program
On Tuesday, California senators Scott Wiener (D) and Marie Waldron (R) introduced Senate Bill 1012, which proposes a state-regulated program to oversee therapeutic use of psilocybin, MDMA, DMT, and mescaline (excluding peyote). The bill would create a board to establish rules and regulations, and it would require facilitators to seek licensure through the state. It also establishes a fund for harm reduction and psychedelics education.
The bill was a response to Governor Newsom’s veto of Wiener’s previous psychedelics bill, which would have decriminalized certain psychedelics. At the time, Newsom submitted a letter to the California Senate explaining his veto. “I urge the legislature to send me legislation next year that includes therapeutic guidelines,” he wrote.
The bill is sponsored by veterans group Heroic Hearts, and the team has also sought input from other groups, including the Coalition for Psychedelic Safety and Education. Kristin Nash, a harm reduction advocate who created the William G. Nash Foundation in honor of her son, who died in an accident after taking psilocybin mushrooms, says that she believes the bill is a step in the right direction for safe access to psychedelics. The bill would establish a fund for public psychedelics education, which would be supported through both private donors and public funds. In an email to The Microdose, Nash says she and others in the Coalition for Psychedelic Safety and Education are collaborating with the political action committee New Approach to obtain private seed funding for the fund. New Approach has also been instrumental in psychedelics ballot initiative efforts in Oregon, Colorado, and now Massachusetts. Nash says she’d still like to see additional amendments to the bill that would ensure high quality public education efforts and prohibit medical claims.
On X, Senator Wiener said that if the bill passes, psychedelic-assisted therapy could be available as early as 2026. While Oregon and Colorado have established state-run programs similar to this one, California’s proposal would be the first to be approved through legislation rather than as a ballot initiative. It would also be the first to explicitly focus on psychedelic therapy. Oregon’s program prohibits medical claims and any language related to treatment of mental health conditions.
First patient in French psilocybin clinical trial
Researchers at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nimes in France have begun the country’s first-ever psilocybin clinical trial. The study will investigate the substance’s ability to treat depression and alcohol use disorder in adults hospitalized at the research center. Lead researcher Amandine Luquiens posted on X about the milestone. “En commençant l'internat je n'aurais jamais imaginé vivre une telle révolution (When I started school, I never would have imagined such a revolution),” she wrote.
Psychoactive molecule patent in China
This week, psychedelic biotech company Clearmind announced that it received patent approval from Chinese officials for a psychoactive molecule called 5-methoxy-2-aminoindane or MEAI in treating binge behaviors. MEAI has a similar chemical structure to amphetamine, and has been studied for its potential in treating alcohol use disorder. Securing patent rights in China is an interesting move; the country has no active psychedelics clinical trials, though some researchers in China are studying ketamine.
The city council of Medford, Massachusetts voted to pass a resolution that declared psychedelics-related arrests or investigations to be the lowest law enforcement priority for Medford authorities.
The Dallas Observer detailed their attempt at tripping on amanita mushroom gummies.
Vice visits drug activist Dana Larsen’s illicit drug dispensary in Vancouver.
Big pharma is “jostling” for control of the psychedelics world, and long-time philanthropists and advocates interviewed by AP News aren’t happy about it.
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