La ciencia psicodélica del siglo XXI

A historical and ethnopharmacological review of classic psychedelics, from the 1950s to the present, including their ancestral uses, highlights political and cultural controversies in Psychiatry. The authors argue that psychopharmacological progress over the last thirty years has not met expectations, and that regulatory policies in Argentina must change to allow clinical research into serotonergic psychedelics. The goal is to promote a stigma-free approach to these substances' therapeutic potential, aiming to provide relief for severe mental illnesses that remain inadequately treated.

Study at a glance

Abstract

We are currently witnessing a renaissance of psychedelic science in clinical research. In Argentina, the challenges related to its study and the development of new treatments in the field of Psychiatry are subject to the adoption of certain regulatory policies. The evolution of the knowledge about the effects, mechanisms of action and therapeutic potential of serotonergic psychedelics warrants a change in the regulatory framework for their use in clinical research. In a world that demands rapid flexibility and adaptation, we should avoid waiting for advances from developed countries. It is evident that psychopharmacological progress in the last thirty years have not been up to the expectations of the so-called "decade of the brain". Aware of these limitations, in this paper we carry out a historical and ethnopharmacological review of the classic psychedelics, from the 50's to the present -without ignoring their ancestral uses-, in order to highlight the political and cultural controversies that these molecules have raised in the field of Psychiatry. We hope to promote in the local environment an approach devoid of stigmas and that considers the therapeutic potential of these substances, with the ultimate goal of providing relief to severe mental illnesses that to this day continue to remain unanswered.