Ohio State University and its research partner Inner State have received a license to cultivate and study psilocybin mushrooms.
Last week, Inner State announced that it had received the cultivation permit from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the first license of its kind the administration has given to an American university.
Inner State says obtaining it is a major milestone for the field of psychedelics research and that the studies will be conducted in adherence with strict guidelines set out by the DEA.
The company says that approximately 20 million American citizens suffer from depression, which psilocybin has shown great promise in treating. Inner State also believes the mushrooms have other healing properties in addition to those offered by psilocybin.
“We believe that there is more to discover in psilocybin mushrooms than just psilocybin. The whole mushroom is reported to have multi-dimensional healing properties that may help to cure mental health issues, relieve pain as well as improve the quality of palliative care for cancer,” said Inner State’s CEO Ashley Walsh.
Ohio State researchers Jason Slot and Kou-San Ju say that they will be able to gain a more comprehensive picture of the mushrooms chemical diversity through the use of genomics and metabolomics techniques, two fields of study within molecular biology.
Inner State is a psychedelics research company headquartered in Columbus Ohio that focuses on developing novel molecules and compounds derived from psilocybin mushrooms.
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Psilocybin’s classification as a Schedule I drug in the U.S. has long limited research on the fungi and the news comes as a growing body of research showing the compound’s therapeutic value continues to emerge globally.
In January, University of Colorado Denver professor Jim Grigsby and two other researchers received US$2.1 million in funding from the National Cancer Institute for a five-year study on treating late-stage cancer patients with psilocybin-assisted therapy.
In February, the University of California Davis established an Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics to help develop treatments for an assortment of physical and mental health conditions.
In February 2021, the biotechnology company Psilera Bioscience announced that it had received DEA approval to research psilocybin, psilocin and DMT in partnership with the University of South Florida and its Chemical Purification and Screening facility. The studies are intended to help develop treatments for central nervous system disorders.
American states such as California, Oregon and Colorado have decriminalized psilocybin and other psychedelics for medical purposes.
rowan@mugglehead.com
