EXCLUSIVE: Johns Hopkins Professor Says Psychedelic Medicine Could Get Messy, Calling For 'Right, Smart, Non-Restrictive, Yet Preventive' Regulations

Yetter Coleman’s Matt Zorn chatted with none other than multi-awarded and great psychedelics researcher Dr. Matthew Johnson at Benzinga’s recently held Psychedelics Capital Conference.

Dr. Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins. He is one of the world’s most published scientists on the human effects of psychedelics and has conducted seminal research in the behavioral economics of drug use, addiction, and risk behavior.

The pair discussed the intricacies behind the science of psychedelics and how it will transform the medical landscape.

A Tailored Business Opportunity 

“It would be crazy to think that the compounds that we have right now are going to be the only ones,” Johnson said, referring to the numerous psychedelic-based medicines currently under development and proving clinical efficacy with an “even safer” profile.

Yet all of them are affected by one thing: the difference in the treatment as respect to traditional pharma.

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“I mean, this is not going to be your GP giving a high dose of psilocybin to take home,” Johnson says. That raises core questions regarding clinics’ infrastructure, appropriate training and, later on, the potential treatment of different indications.

Treatment Regularity

Another important topic is addiction. While psychedelics do not hold inherent addictive properties, Johnson has experienced situations with trial patients coming back several months after their original dose desiring another.

“It seems pretty clear that not everyone, but a number of people, are poised to be substantially benefited," he said. "But that is going to fade over some time. I do think we have probably, in terms of our messaging, leaned a little too much on the side of ‘Oh, this is so miraculous.’ Because we can have one single session and with this life-altering, sustaining experience. But sometimes it doesn't look like that."

In terms of a clinical model, Johnson expects that once the FDA approves treatments with these compounds, many cases will likely show comorbidities, and the treatment for that would on average be repeated dosing.

Because, as happens with ketamine, the duration of effect in depression over time has shrunk to between one and two weeks, an expectedly similar pattern in general with psilocybin, MDMA and the other compounds.

Going Beyond Disorder Nomination

Johnson also noted that it doesn’t always look like major depression versus an occasional mood regulation problem, citing surveys that suggest having a psychedelic experience — even while dealing with traumatic events — may serve as a preventative role for not succumbing to deep clinical manifestations. 

“The range of phenomena is so wide. So I step back, and I think, what kind of society are we going to be in the next 10, 100, 1000 years?” he said. The FDA’s focus remains on treating disorders, making it difficult to imagine other scenarios for psychedelics’ use, he added.

Johnson suggests not just focus on treating nominal disorders, but taking it “even further” to the core nature of human phenomenal consciousness. That is where he sees the psychedelics' field going forward — understanding them as tools that can make “a profound impact."

But the field will get messy, he predicts. Expect “lots of challenges.” And having appropriate — “right, smart, non-restrictive yet preventive” — regulations will ensure safety.

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