Could Psychedelic Drugs Offer a New Treatment for Cocaine Use Disorder?

The therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds to treat psychiatric and substance-use disorders has been attracting a lot of attention lately. Now, we'll be among those helping to advance knowledge of their use. With an award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Albert Arias, MD, chief of addiction psychiatry, will research whether psilocybin, a compound found in some mushrooms, can offer a new approach for people with cocaine use disorder.

The initial $623,000 award is part of a phased project to evaluate whether psilocybin can help reduce cocaine use when administered in a carefully controlled clinical research setting combined with structured psychotherapy. Subsequent funding to support the larger clinical phase of the research could bring the total award to $3.5 million.

“Cocaine use disorder can have devastating consequences for patients, their families and communities, yet we still do not have an FDA-approved medication to treat it,” Dr. Arias said. “This study gives us an opportunity to rigorously investigate a promising but still experimental approach and determine whether it may ultimately have a role in helping patients reduce or stop cocaine use.”

The first phase of research will examine safety, tolerability, feasibility, dosing, and early signals of efficacy. If successful, the project will move into a larger clinical trial designed to test efficacy and better understand why some patients may respond better than others.

The NIDA award expands our growing research in addiction psychiatry and reflects our commitment to investigating new approaches for patients affected by substance use disorders.

“Research is especially important when patients and clinicians have limited treatment options,” Dr. Arias said. “Our goal is not to assume that psilocybin works, but to ask the question carefully, scientifically and safely. If we find evidence of benefit, it could provide the foundation for larger studies and— eventually—new treatment options."