Resolution: F-20-10: SUPPORT OF REVIEW OF PSILOCYBIN CLASSIFICATION AND RECOGNITION OF MEDICINAL USE

[Valerie Lile]

1  WHEREAS, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 defines a Schedule I substance, such as
2  psilocybin, as having “no currently accepted medical use in treatment”¹, yet “The US Food and
3  Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval to COMPASS Pathways’ planned clinical trial
4  to test psilocybin therapy in patients with treatment-resistant depression”²; and
5  WHEREAS, the World Health Organization (WHO) states “Depression affects about 121
6  million people worldwide and is the leading cause of disability,³” and “The United States Food
7  and Drug Administration has: Determined that preliminary clinical evidence indicates that
8  psilocybin may demonstrate substantial improvement over available therapies for treatment-
9  resistant depression,⁴”; and
10  WHEREAS, depression remains an underappreciated comorbidity in cancer patients, with major
11  implications on patient suffering, mortality and healthcare expenditure⁵ and psilocybin research
12  has demonstrated efficacy in decreasing symptoms of depressed mood and anxiety, and
13  increasing the quality of life in patients with a life-threatening cancer diagnosis,⁶; and
14  WHEREAS, in a study of patients with OCD disorder, it was found that there were marked
15  decreases in OCD symptoms in all subjects¹¹ ; and
16  WHEREAS, the CDC states that there are “88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life
17  lost (YPLL) each year in the United States⁷” due to alcohol and psilocybin has shown “high
18  success rates of psychedelic-facilitated treatment of alcoholism approximately doubling the odds
19  of success at initial follow-up,⁸”; and
20  WHEREAS, one in eight adults in the United State of America meets the diagnostic criteria for
21  an alcohol use disorder¹⁴; and
22  WHEREAS, one study found that when psilocybin was administered in patients with alcohol
23  use disorders, patients experiences decreased cravings and increased abstinence in regards to
24  alcohol consumption¹²; and
25  WHEREAS, one study (N=15) found that at 12-month follow-up visits, 10 participants (67%)
26  were confirmed as smoking abstinent after using psilocybin and at long-term follow-up, nine
27  participants (60%) were confirmed as smoking abstinent¹⁴ ; and
28  WHEREAS, one study found that twenty-two of 26 psilocybin users reported that psilocybin
29  aborted headache attacks; 25 of 48 psilocybin users reported cluster period termination; 18 of 19
30  psilocybin users reported remission period extension¹³; and
31  WHEREAS, John Hopkins researchers suggest that “psilocybin should be re-categorized from a
32  schedule I drug¹⁰”, since schedule I drugs are considered to have no medical use and psilocybin
33  has been shown to be medically relevant; and
1  WHEREAS, recent clinical examinations of psilocybin have indicated that it is not hazardous to
2  physical health¹⁵, and
3  WHEREAS, the American Osteopathic Association has no official policy on psilocybin, yet has
4  support for many related policies, such as Resolution: F-17-02, H419-A/16, and H442-A/17;
5  now, therefore, be it
6  RESOLVED, the Student Osteopathic Medical Association and American Osteopathic
7  Association support a review of the classification of psilocybin under the Controlled Substance
8  Act of 1970, to facilitate advancement in clinical, public health, patient safety, and health policy
9  research involving medical psilocybin use.

Explanatory Statement

It is obvious that psilocybin has medical usage. States are beginning to legalize the medical uses of it. The AOA, AMA, FDA, and many other large health organizations have come out in support of cannabis for its medical usage in previous statements and they should do the same with psilocybin. If we were going to have an objective discussion about the efficacy of different chemicals, one must be open to science and results, regardless of previous prejudices.

RELEVANT AOA POLICIES:

• Resolution: F-17-02; Subject:CANNABIS RECLASSIFICATION EFFECT ON RESEARCH
• H419-A/16 MEDICAL CANNABIS, RESEARCH ON
• H442-A/17 RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA USE BY PHYSICIANS, STUDENTS AND PATIENTS

SOMA Policy: None

References

1. The Controlled Substances Act. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dea.gov/controlled-substances-act
2. “The Safety and Efficacy of Psilocybin in Participants With Treatment Resistant Depression – Full Text View.” The Safety and Efficacy of Psilocybin in Participants With Treatment Resistant Depression – Full Text View – ClinicalTrials.gov, clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03775200.
3. Reddy MS. Depression: the disorder and the burden. Indian J Psychol Med. 2010;32(1):1–2. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.70510
4. Oregon Psilocybin Program Initiative (2020). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ballotpedia.org/Oregon_Psilocybin_Program_Initiative_(2020)
5. Smith HR. Depression in cancer patients: Pathogenesis, implications and treatment (Review). Oncol Lett. 2015;9(4):1509–1514. doi:10.3892/ol.2015.2944
6. Griffiths, Roland R et al. “Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind ” Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) vol. 30,12 (2016): 1181-1197. doi:10.1177/0269881116675513
7. “Drinking Too Much Alcohol Can Harm Your Health. Learn the Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Dec. 2019, cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm.
8. Johnson, M. W., Garcia-Romeu, A., & Griffiths, R. R. (2017, January). Long-term follow-up of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation. Retrieved from https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27441452
9. “Tobacco Use in Kentucky 2018.” Truth Initiative, truthinitiative.org/research-resources/smoking-region/tobacco-use-kentucky-2018.
10. “Reclassification Recommendations for Drug in ‘Magic Mushrooms’.” Johns Hopkins Medicine Newsroom, 26 Sept. 2018, hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/reclassification-recommendations-for-drug-in-magic-mushrooms
11. Moreno, F. A., Wiegand, C. B., Taitano, E. K., & Delgado, P. L. (2006). Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67(11), 1735-1740. doi:10.4088/jcp.v67n1110
12. Garcia-Romeu, A. P., Noorani, T., Griffiths, R. R., & Johnson, M. W. (2015). Long- term follow-up of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation: Abstinence outcomes and qualitative analysis of participant accounts. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 156. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.07.1130
13. Sewell, R., Halpern, J., & Pope, H. (2006, June 27). Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16801660
14. Grant, B. F., Chou, S. P., Saha, T. D., Pickering, R. P., Kerridge, B. T., Ruan, W. J., . . . Hasin, D. S. (2017). Prevalence of 12-Month Alcohol Use, High-Risk Drinking, and DSM-IV Alcohol Use Disorder in the United States, 2001-2002 to 2012-2013. JAMA Psychiatry, 74(9), doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.2161
15. Grob, C. S. (2010). Psilocybin Treatment in Advanced-Stage Cancer Patients With Anxiety. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e609412010-001

Submitted by:

Batoul Sadek, OMS II — Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine
Mohamed Hashem, OMS I — Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine
Julie Alvarez, OMS II — Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine
Ala’a Grace Khattab, OMS II — Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine
Ian Kieth, OMS III — Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine
Chris Moore, OMS III — Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine
Joseph Roesch, OMS III — Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine

Action Taken:
Date:
Effective Time Period: ONGOING

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