NIDA Partners With The National Institute Of Mental Health To Study Psychedelics Potential

Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), said that psychedelic substances have promising potential for therapeutic uses, particularly for treating severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and addiction.

Accelerating Research

At a Senate hearing, Volkow acknowledged that research into psychedelic drugs had been halted for many years due to cultural stigma and drug war criminalization.

However, she noted that the situation has changed, and NIDA is partnering with the National Institute of Mental Health to expand and accelerate research in this area.

“We’re actually engaging the scientific community to try to understand how psychedelic drugs can be potentially utilized for the treatment—how they affect the brain, and also how to deploy them in ways that are going to be safe and very effective,” Volkow said.

Meanwhile, Volkow also expressed concern about the frequent use of high-THC cannabis products and the need to understand the consequences of their use.

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