Psychedelic drug DMT to be trialled in UK to treat depression

DMT is found in several plants and is one of the active ingredients in ayahuasca, pictured. Photograph: Michal Moravcik/Alamy (via The Guardian)

Guardian Exclusive: UK regulators give go-ahead for drug to be trialled ahead of possible treatment alongside psychotherapy

“UK regulators have given the go-ahead for the first clinical trial of the use of the psychedelic drug dimethyltriptamine (DMT) to treat depression.

The trial will initially give the drug – known as the “spirit molecule” for the powerful hallucinogenic trips it induces – to healthy individuals, but it is expected to be followed by a second trial in patients with depression, where DMT will be given alongside psychotherapy.

Taking the drug before therapy is akin to shaking up a snow globe and letting the flakes settle, said Carol Routledge, chief scientific and medical officer at Small Pharma, the company running the trial in collaboration with Imperial College London…” Read more