Written question asked by Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 17 December 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 19 December 2024. It was answered by Andrew Gwynne (Labour) on Friday, 3 January 2025 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Mental Illness: Drugs

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of(a) the utilisation of psilocybin-based treatments for mental health conditions and (b) commissioning further research into the therapeutic applications of psychedelic drugs.

Answer: The Department recognises that the use of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies, such as psilocybin, to treat mental illness is gaining attention both within the medical and scientific communities, as well as across the public more broadly. However, there is no proven medical use for psilocybin in the United Kingdom, and no such substance has yet been licensed as safe and effective in the treatment of mental health conditions. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is supporting psilocybin research via the NIHR King’s Clinical Research Facility, the NIHR Oxford Health Clinical Research Facility, and the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, where researchers are developing and evaluating the efficacy and safety of psilocybin therapies.

Secondary information