Frank Biden made his remarks during a call to a broadcast of The Michael Smerconish Program on Sirius XM. The host had just interviewed a Wall Street Journal reporter, who recently wrote about influential Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and employees who believe that the use of hallucinogens and similar substances can help drive business breakthroughs.
“He has a very open mind,” Frank Biden commented when Smerconish asked him about the conversations he has had with the president on the matter. “Let’s leave it that way. I do not want to talk; I’m talking brother to brother. Between brothers”.
“The question is: is the world, the United States ready for this? In my opinion, we are on the verge of a consciousness that has to be generated to solve many of the problems of addictions and others related to them, but just as important, to make us aware of the fact that we are one people and we must unite. he declared.
Frank Biden added that he has “done a lot of research” on the subject “because I have been a recovering alcoholic for many, many years.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some researchers believe that psilocybin, the component of hallucinogenic mushrooms, changes the way the brain organizes itself and may help users recover from problems such as depression, alcoholism, and post-traumatic stress. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA, for its acronym in English) approved a drug that is related to the anesthetic ketamine to help the population fight depression that is difficult to cure.
But medical experts caution that more research is needed into the drug’s efficacy and the extent of the hallucinogens’ risks.
The American Psychiatric Association has not endorsed the use of hallucinogens in treatment, noting that the FDA has not yet offered a final determination. The FDA designated psilocybin a “breakthrough therapy” in 2018, a label intended to speed the development and review of drugs to combat serious conditions. MDMA, also known as ecstasy, has that same designation for post-traumatic stress treatment.
A few months ago Oregon became the first state in the country to legalize the use of psilocybin among adults. Last year, Colorado voters approved decriminalizing the substance.
Republican-leaning states, including Utah and Missouri, have or have commissioned studies on the substance, inspired in part by veterans who have turned to psilocybin to deal with post-traumatic stress.
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, Republican, spoke last week at a conference in Colorado about helping pass a bill in the Texas Congress in 2021 to fund a study on the use of psilocybin for veterans. Perry spoke out against the recreational use of the substance.
In Congress, similar veteran-focused proposals led to an unusual alliance between progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz.
FUENTE: Associated Press
