Civic activists and psychiatrists in Estonia are calling for the use of psychedelics to treat various mental health conditions. An EMA (Estonian Medicines Agency) representative asserted that psychedelic research is legal in the country and caution needs to be exercised while assessing their adverse effects and therapeutic potential.
Psychedelics have a long history both in their use and in scientific research. For example, many people recall the hippies of the 1960s who used LSD and also have heard about enthusiasts of electronic music that use MDMA. These uses of psychedelics invoke associations with narcotics, but that shouldn’t detract from the medicinal potential of these substances. On the research front, scientists started studying psychedelics back in the 1950s, but the war on drugs triggered by President Nixon of America put a halt to these studies. Another wave of research started in the 1990s and this has carried on to this date.
In the U.S., scientific research into the use of MDMA as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder has advanced to Phase 3, and the U.S. FDA has gone as far as designating psilocybin, LSD and MDMA as “breakthrough therapies.” This designation paves the way for accelerated consideration of any research data on these substances so that they can easily be approved as new treatments.
TAIP (The Foundation for the Development & Innovation of Psychedelic Therapy), a professional group advocating for scientific approaches to be used in assessing the medicinal potential of psychedelics in Estonia, had its maiden seminar in the country. Its chair, Viljar Veede, explains that this foundation was established to create awareness of the necessity to incorporate psychedelics in mental health care. The group wants to see psychedelic compounds used either as a complement to existing mental health treatments or even as a primary treatment protocol.
Anne Kleinberg, who heads the Estonian Psychiatric Association, agrees with Veede. She says current treatments aren’t accessible to many who need mental health care, and those treatments are at most 60% effective. About 33% of patients don’t respond to current therapies, and this makes it urgent to find new alternative treatment options. Kleinberg adds that conventional treatments are very slow to produce desirable effects and consequently, it is important to come up with new lines of treatment that can help those in urgent need, such as those who are severely depressed.
These experts point out that psychedelics have proven in clinical trials that they can treat conditions like addiction, chronic depression and anxiety disorders. They hope that Estonia, and Europe in general will move faster in considering the integration of psychedelics in mental health care in just the same way that the U.S. has progressed.
The work that is being done by psychedelics medicine startups like Seelos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SEEL) is likely to trigger further awareness about the potential of these substances. As a result, more jurisdictions around the world could consider revising their drug laws to accommodate this changing reality.
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