MDMA & Psilocybin

In one final episode for 2023 / season 4 of Curiosity Killed the Rat, Kade and Matt bring you an extended special reflecting on one of the biggest Australian milestones of 2023: the re-classification and approval of MDMA and Psilocybin to assist therapy. Kade leads us through the science accompanying the historical journey of these drugs; from their discovery and synthesis, through their recreational use (both legal and illegal), to their status today as promising therapeutic compounds. Stick around for a listener question of great seriousness and importance: If a tree in the forest falls and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on X, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to [email protected] We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: Kade’s Article The Therapeutic Odyssey of Psilocybin and MDMA: A Return to Roots https://rsv.org.au/psilocybin-and-mdma/ Seeking the magic mushroom — Originally published in 1957 Life Magazine https://www.trippingly.net/lsd/2018/5/14/seeking-the-magic-mushroom Hofmann, A. (1959). Psychotomimetic drugs. Acta physiologica et pharmacologica Neerlandica, 8, 240-258. Shulgin, A. T. (1964). 3-Methoxy-4 5-methylenedioxy Amphetamine, a New Psychotomimetic Agent. Nature, 201(4924), 1120-1121. Stolaroff, M. J. (1997). The secret chief revealed: Conversations with a pioneer of the underground psychedelic therapy movement. Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Sessa, B., Higbed, L., & Nutt, D. (2019). A review of 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy. Frontiers in psychiatry, 10, 138. Nutt, D. J., King, L. A., & Nichols, D. E. (2013). Effects of Schedule I drug laws on neuroscience research and treatment innovation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(8), 577-585. Grob, C. S., Danforth, A. L., Chopra, G. S., Hagerty, M., McKay, C. R., Halberstadt, A. L., & Greer, G. R. (2011). Pilot study of psilocybin treatment for anxiety in patients with advanced-stage cancer. Archives of general psychiatry, 68(1), 71-78. Mithoefer, M. C., Wagner, M. T., Mithoefer, A. T., Jerome, L., & Doblin, R. (2011). The safety and efficacy of±3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy in subjects with chronic, treatment-resistant posttraumatic stress disorder: the first randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of psychopharmacology, 25(4), 439-452. Li, N. X., Hu, Y. R., Chen, W. N., & Zhang, B. (2022). Dose effect of psilocybin on primary and secondary depression: a preliminary systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 296, 26-34. Carhart-Harris, R., Giribaldi, B., Watts, R., Baker-Jones, M., Murphy-Beiner, A., Murphy, R., ... & Nutt, D. J. (2021). Trial of psilocybin versus escitalopram for depression. New England Journal of Medicine, 384(15), 1402-1411. Bogenschutz, M. P., Ross, S., Bhatt, S., Baron, T., Forcehimes, A. A., Laska, E., ... & Worth, L. (2022). Percentage of heavy drinking days following psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy vs placebo in the treatment of adult patients with alcohol use disorder: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA psychiatry, 79(10), 953-962. Johnson, M. W., Garcia-Romeu, A., & Griffiths, R. R. (2017). Long-term follow-up of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 43(1), 55-60. Peck, S. K., Shao, S., Gruen, T., Yang, K., Babakanian, A., Trim, J., ... & Kaye, W. H. (2023). Psilocybin therapy for females with anorexia nervosa: a phase 1, open-label feasibility study. Nature Medicine, 29(8), 1947-1953. Danforth, A. L., Grob, C. S., Struble, C., Feduccia, A. A., Walker, N., Jerome, L., ... & Emerson, A. (2018). Reduction in social anxiety after MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with autistic adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study. Psychopharmacology, 235(11), 3137-3148. Wolfson, P. E., Andries, J., Feduccia, A. A., Jerome, L., Wang, J. B., Williams, E., ... & Doblin, R. (2020). MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of anxiety and other psychological distress related to life-threatening illnesses: a randomized pilot study. Scientific reports, 10(1), 20442. Mitchell, J. M., Bogenschutz, M., Lilienstein, A., Harrison, C., Kleiman, S., Parker-Guilbert, K., ... & Doblin, R. (2023). MDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study. Focus, 21(3), 315-328. Nicholas, C. R., Wang, J. B., Coker, A., Mitchell, J. M., Klaire, S. S., Yazar-Klosinski, B., ... & Doblin, R. (2022). The effects of MDMA-assisted therapy on alcohol and substance use in a phase 3 trial for treatment of severe PTSD. Drug and alcohol dependence, 233, 109356. Sessa, B., Higbed, L., O’Brien, S., Durant, C., Sakal, C., Titheradge, D., ... & Nutt, D. J. (2021). First study of safety and tolerability of 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy in patients with alcohol use disorder. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 35(4), 375-383. Hoshi, R., Bisla, J., & Curran, H. V. (2004). The acute and sub-acute effects of ‘ecstasy’(MDMA) on processing of facial expressions: preliminary findings. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 76(3), 297-304. Rootman, J. M., Kiraga, M., Kryskow, P., Harvey, K., Stamets, P., Santos-Brault, E., ... & Walsh, Z. (2022). Psilocybin microdosers demonstrate greater observed improvements in mood and mental health at one month relative to non-microdosing controls. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 11091. Cavanna, F., Muller, S., de la Fuente, L. A., Zamberlan, F., Palmucci, M., Janeckova, L., ... & Tagliazucchi, E. (2022). Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Translational Psychiatry, 12(1), 307. Passie, Torsten, and Andrew Dennis, 'The Early History of MDMA', The History of MDMA MAPS FDA MDMA application: https://mapsbcorp.com/news/mdma-for-ptsd-fda-submission/ MDMA neurotoxicity: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.301.5639.1479b https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1074501 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.301.5639.1454b https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC194116/ Woke pharmaceuticals: https://wokeph.com/ Tik Tok Video: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSNCVW7gn/