The UK is “still in the dark ages when it comes to the positive benefits of psilocybin”, SNP MP Owen Thompson has said.
A cross-party group of politicians was told that psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – can be "life-saving" for people struggling with mental health problems.
From July, psychiatrists in Australia will be permitted to prescribe psilocybin to patients with treatment-resistant depression.
The Midlothian MP has called on the Home Office to urgently review the evidence of the benefits of the substance to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anorexia nervosa and post-traumatic stress disorder.
He said: “It is high time that we moved with the times and opened our eyes to how useful psilocybin can be.
“The Home Office needs to commission an urgent review of the evidence of psilocybin’s relative harms and utility with a view to rescheduling quickly.
“Why can’t qualified clinical professionals do the same here? The UK is still in the dark ages when it comes to the positive benefits of psilocybin.
“There has been a real resurgence in research in substances that began to be recognised for their medicinal qualities in the 1950s before there was a moral panic and a backlash.”
READ MORE: Scots patients risking jail to treat excruciating headaches with illicit drug
Psilocybin is still categorised as a Schedule 1 drug alongside substances such as crack cocaine and heroin.
Mr Thompson said the "archaic status" of psilocybin is a direct impediment to vital medical and scientific research.
In the US, the Food and Drug Administration granted Breakthrough Therapy status for psilocybin in 2018 and Australia followed suit this year, enabling licensed psychiatrists to prescribe them.
“The current research suggests psilocybin offers hope as a potential mental health intervention for suicide prevention," said the MP.
“Further research is needed to clarify details of its utility and the optimal approach for using psilocybin in suicide prevention and mental health treatment.
“But the evidence is clear that it could offer hope to millions.”
READ MORE: Scientists treat depression with 'magic mushroom' that can reboot the brain
MPs will hold a debate on Thursday to discuss access to psilocybin treatments, which was put forward by Charlotte Nichols, Crispin Blunt and SNP MP Ronnie Cowan.
Mr Thompson said: “The classification of this substance is not based on the evidence and seems just to be based on decades-old myth and prejudice.
“Most recently in November last year, I asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she would discuss the potential approval of psilocybin as a medicine with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
“I was told there are no plans to do so. I was also told that for an authorisation to be granted for a medicine, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency must receive a full marketing application from the applicant.
“This glib response and failure to see the facts beggars belief given we are seeing more people suffer mental health problems because of the chaos caused by the cost of living crisis.”
Treatment-resistant depression afflicts 1.2 million people in Britain alone.
MPs are expected to call for the Home Office to immediately facilitate scientific and clinical research, expedite access and base psilocybin's scheduling on evidence by commissioning an urgent review of the evidence by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel