CLEVELAND — While much of Ohio's focus has been on the law set to allow for the recreational use of marijuana, there's another controversial kind of drug that could also see mainstream approval for medical treatment soon: psychedelics.
Right now, MDMA, also known as molly or ecstasy, could see FDA approval in the coming months to help with PTSD.
"It’s an exciting time for the field because of these drugs," Dr. Brian Barnett, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Cleveland Clinic, explained. "We think they are going to give us the tools we need to help patients who have not responded to treatments previously. By this time next year, we could see MDMA in clinical settings, not just in research settings."
It comes after Dr. Barnett published a study showing a shift in the medical perception of these kinds of hallucinogenic drugs, with the majority of psychiatrists that responded planning to use psychedelic drugs as a possible therapy if they received regulatory approval.
"Even 5-6 years ago, psychedelics were not really taken seriously by most psychiatrists and it seemed unlikely that they would ever be used in clinical treatment," Dr. Barnett added.
Even if approved, Dr. Barnett points out that psychedelic drugs would require strict regulations, like a guided and controlled experience with the help of a psychiatrist.
"People can be harmed by them if they are doing them by themselves outside a medical setting," he said. "We don’t want to underplay the risks here."
It's not clear if or when exactly FDA approval for MDMA could occur.
Summit County father describes experience with psychedelics after death of son
Despite the drugs still largely being illegal, Ryan Ward is willing to bring his experience with psychedelics into the light in hopes that it will help remove the stigma surrounding them.
"Psychedelics have changed my life," he said.
In 2019, Ryan’s 10-year-old son James died unexpectedly when he didn’t wake up for school. Death without reason, known as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) consumed this father.
"Everybody loved him, he was a magnet," Ward recalled. "The pain of the loss of my son was right here and it was all I could see."
So in October 2020, Ryan Ward turned to psychedelics, specifically plant-based ayahuasca, to rein in his crippling grief over the course of just two days.
"It opened my ability to see myself from a third person perspective," he explained. "And from that perspective, I was able to see some attributes about myself and my personality that don't really suit me. With that knowledge, I was able to start navigating life in a way where I was working on those things about my personality and bettering myself."
Pretty quickly, Ward began watching life through another lens.
"You can use them to have fun and to escape, but they’re really used to dive deep into the center of your being to find why things are the way they are in your life," he explained.
Ward recently moved to Florida, switching careers entirely and dedicating himself to helping others transform their mind and body.
"James' passing changed the trajectory of my life," Ward said. "In the moment he lost his life, and in the time after that, I began to find mine."
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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