Pilot study of the 5-HT2AR agonist psilocybin in the treatment of tobacco addiction

Despite suggestive early findings on the therapeutic use of hallucinogens in the treatment of substance use disorders, rigorous follow-up has not been conducted. To determine the safety and feasibility of psilocybin as an adjunct to tobacco smoking cessation treatment we conducted an open-label pilo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford) 2014-11, Vol.28 (11), p.983-992
Main Authors: Johnson, Matthew W, Garcia-Romeu, Albert, Cosimano, Mary P, Griffiths, Roland R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitude
Behavior, Addictive - drug therapy
Biomarkers - metabolism
Biomarkers - urine
Carbon Monoxide - metabolism
Cognitive Therapy
Combined Modality Therapy - adverse effects
Cotinine - urine
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Nicotinic Agonists - therapeutic use
Pilot Projects
Psilocybin - adverse effects
Psilocybin - therapeutic use
Serotonin Receptor Agonists - adverse effects
Serotonin Receptor Agonists - therapeutic use
Smoking Cessation - methods
Tobacco Use Disorder - drug therapy
Tobacco Use Disorder - psychology
Tobacco Use Disorder - therapy
Treatment Outcome
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Summary:Despite suggestive early findings on the therapeutic use of hallucinogens in the treatment of substance use disorders, rigorous follow-up has not been conducted. To determine the safety and feasibility of psilocybin as an adjunct to tobacco smoking cessation treatment we conducted an open-label pilot study administering moderate (20 mg/70 kg) and high (30 mg/70 kg) doses of psilocybin within a structured 15-week smoking cessation treatment protocol. Participants were 15 psychiatrically healthy nicotine-dependent smokers (10 males; mean age of 51 years), with a mean of six previous lifetime quit attempts, and smoking a mean of 19 cigarettes per day for a mean of 31 years at intake. Biomarkers assessing smoking status, and self-report measures of smoking behavior demonstrated that 12 of 15 participants (80%) showed seven-day point prevalence abstinence at 6-month follow-up. The observed smoking cessation rate substantially exceeds rates commonly reported for other behavioral and/or pharmacological therapies (typically
ISSN:0269-8811
1461-7285
DOI:10.1177/0269881114548296