Please support Telehealth.org’s ability to deliver helpful news, opinions, and analyses by turning off your ad blocker. Research has been mounting in support of prescribing psychedelic medications to treat various mental health and substance use disorders, including treatment-resistant depression, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, traumatic brain injury, and opioid addiction. Psychedelic medicines include psychoactive substances extracted from chemicals and plants. These naturally occurring substances are increasingly being researched to serve as natural alternatives for changing perception, emotion, and other cognitive functions. Given recent, widespread state actions to decriminalize the production and use of psilocybin, prescribing psychedelics via telehealth is showing signs of soon becoming a booming telehealth specialization.
Recent Events Leading to the Decriminalization of Psychedelic Drugs
Several developments In 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration identified psilocybin as a “breakthrough therapy” in treating severe depression. The agency uses this designation for drugs that demonstrate substantial improvement over existing treatments in early trials.
In a July report by InsightAce Analytic, the global psychedelic therapeutics market was valued at US$ 3.61 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach US$ 8.31 billion by 2028. These projections were based on InsightAce Analytic’s prediction that the current rise in stress levels and chronic health conditions worldwide, as well as the recent shift toward natural alternatives to conventional medicine, are likely to “propel” the global market expansion for psychedelic medicines.
States Legalizing Psychedelics
In November 2020, Oregon became the first state to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy. The Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division’s Center for Health Protection webpage titled “Oregon Psilocybin Services” states:
The Oregon Psilocybin Services Section implements Ballot Measure 109 (now codified as ORS 475A), which was passed in November 2020 and directs the Oregon Health Authority to license and regulate the manufacturing, transportation, delivery, sale, and purchase of psilocybin products and the provision of psilocybin services. To read a summary of work accomplished during the development period, please see the OPS 2022 Year in Review.
The Oregon Psilocybin Services Section began accepting applications for licensure on January 2, 2023. We expect new psilocybin service centers to open their doors to clients and for licensed facilitators to begin offering psilocybin services in 2023.
In July of 2022, Pew Trusts published an article titled More States May Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms, which mentioned state-level interest in decriminalizing psychedelics by lawmakers in California, Colorado, New Jersey, Washington, Texas, Maryland, Connecticut, and Utah. It also stated that the following cities have decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms and, in some cases, included other psychedelics derived from plants or fungi: Ann Arbor, Michigan; Denver; Oakland, California; and Seattle. It mentioned that native Americans have been using psychedelics to improve their well-being for hundreds of years and that the cities mentioned made no distinction between medical and recreational uses. In November 2022, Colorado voted to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms. However, the use, sale, and possession of psilocybin in the United States are illegal under federal law. Researchers would most likely state that while medical applications are promising, more research and healthcare provider training are needed before adopting protocols appropriately.
Psychedelic Therapeutics Market Is Pointing to Telehealth and Psychedelics
The psychedelic therapeutics market is heating up, and right on its heels, the telehealth and psychedelics market is positioning itself. Citing dozens of pharmaceutical companies involved in the psychedelic therapeutics market along with several key developments in the field, the National Law Review’s (NLR) January 31, 2023 summary of the behavioral market explained that with Post-COVID behavioral telehealth investments fueling the market leaders, current growth is still strong in specialized telehealth markets. The NLR article then describes the growing numbers of telehealth companies investing in offering psychedelic treatment via telehealth for mental health disorders. Without mentioning company names, the NLR article describes 1. digital health companies currently being used for prescribing psychedelics via telehealth and 2. EHRs designed to support ketamine treatments. Telehealth.org readers will also recall the October 2022 article, Ketamine Telehealth: Safety Concerns & Continued Use Post-COVID.
An expansion of healthcare’s psychedelic market is expected in 2023. With the market worth of companies operating in psychedelics anticipated to be over $8 billion by 2028, Telehealth.org will keep you posted with other breaking news about prescribing psychedelics via telehealth.
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