A single dose of psilocybin, coupled with psychotherapy, appears to be a “safe and efficacious” treatment option for people with cocaine use disorders (CUD), according to a new study published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
The findings about the psychedelic, published in JAMA Substance Use and Addiction on Thursday, are especially promising given that “no medications have been proven effective” in the treatment of CUD.
Psilocybin-assisted therapy could represent a solution to that “elusive” problem, researchers at the University of Alabama, Johns Hopkins University and the Karolinska Institute found.
For the randomized, quadruple-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 36 participants who met the diagnostic criteria for cocaine use disorder were screened and received psychotherapy incorporating cognitive-behavioral treatment one month before and one month after an “all-day investigational drug treatment session” with psilocybin.
During the medication session, participants were randomly assigned either 25 mg of psilocybin per kilogram of body weight or a placebo.
Researchers found that, compared to the placebo group, “psilocybin-treated participants showed significantly greater percentages of cocaine abstinent days, higher rates of complete abstinence from cocaine, and a decreased risk of cocaine lapse over time.”
Abstinence among participants was verified through urinalysis.
“These findings suggest psilocybin shows promise as
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