Hallucinogenic plants have been part of the human experience for thousands of years, with users aware of their potential for healing, transformation, and growth – as well as their dangers – since as far back as prehistory. Now that public attention has been captured by these extraordinary plants, it is more important than ever to understand the history, pharmacology, and therapeutic potential of psilocybin and other psychedelics.

compasspathways.com

Arketamine and esketamine are the R(-) and S(+) enantiomers of ketamine, a compound that has been used for everything from anesthesia and sedation to chronic pain and depression. Recently, esketamine as a nasal spray (Spravato™) made history as the first psychedelic-type substance approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment resistant depression.

perceptionns.com

Between 1991 and 2011, against the backdrop of a PR campaign aimed at convincing consumers that opioids were both safe and non-addictive, the U.S. saw a threefold spike in annual opioid prescription rates (from 76 to 219 million). Before long, misuse and addiction had exploded: In 2020, 3 million people in the U.S. have had or currently live with an OUD. The COVID-19 pandemic only deepened the opioid epidemic; overall drug overdoses shot up 30% in a year to 93,000, of which close to 75% involved opioids. 

demerx.com

While psychedelics are an important component of the dawning mental healthcare revolution, it is critical to recognize that a comprehensive response to the global mental health crisis ought to be as diverse as possible. To this end, GABA Therapeutics is pursuing a natural approach based on the brain’s ability to correct imbalances that underlie many CNS disorders.

gabarx.com

While psychedelics are an important component of the dawning mental healthcare revolution, non-psychedelics will also play key roles in both treatment and prevention of new cases. To this end, Neuronasal, Inc. is developing well-known and FDA-approved OTC compound N acetylcysteine (NAC) as a promising treatment for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) using intranasal administration for direct nose-to-brain delivery.

neuronasal.com

Even among psychedelics, DMT is extraordinary. Sometimes called the “spirit molecule”, this endogenous psychoactive compound occurs naturally in many plants and animals, and has been implicated in everything from dreaming to religious experiences. However, unlike most psychedelics, for example psilocybin, DMT exhibits extremely rapid onset and short duration of action.

viridia.life

Commonly known as ‘ecstasy’, one compound is seeing a resurgence not on the dancefloors, but rather in the clinics of researchers who have identified its value in treating a number of psychiatric disorders. With a Phase III trial now complete, many anticipate MDMA to be the first psychedelic-like drug to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of PTSD.

empath.bio

Despite limited scientific information, the DEA announced their intention to classify kratom, Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine as Schedule I on the Controlled Substance Act in 2016. Shortly after, a major push-back consisting of 23,000 written pleas from the general public, legislators and scientific community members challenged the DEA’s decision. For the first time in history, the DEA withdrew their intention to schedule a substance.

kures.life

Salvinorin A is derived from the Mexican Lamiacae Salvia Divinorum, a member of the mint family. The plant has been an important part of ceremony and traditional healing for the Mazatec people of southern Mexico for centuries. Pharmacological study into the active ingredient didn’t take off until 1980s and 1990s, and the atypical mechanism of action is still not fully understood. But as the mysteries of this plant are revealed in the lab, data indicate promise for a variety of indications.

revixia.life