Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.

4 papers

The cost-effectiveness of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD

Elliot Marseille, James G. Kahn, Berra Yazar‐Klosinski, Rick Doblin
PLoS ONE Summary & key facts 2020 53 citations

MAPS reports results from a randomized, blinded Phase 3 trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for severe, chronic PTSD (90 people, average 14 years of PTSD). After three MDMA-assisted therapy sessions, 67% of treated participants no longer met the study's PTSD diagnosis and 88% had a clinically meaningful symptom drop, compared with…

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research Psychedelics and Drug Studies

Characteristics of and 3-month health outcomes for people seeking treatment with prescribed cannabis: Real-world evidence from Project Twenty21

Michael T. Lynskey, Anne Katrin Schlag, Alkyoni Athanasiou‐Fragkouli, David R. Badcock, David Nutt
Drug Science Policy and Law Summary & key facts 2023 19 citations

Project Twenty21 collected real-world data from people in the UK who sought prescribed medicinal cannabis. Data at treatment start were available for 2,833 patients and 1,410 had 3-month follow-up for anxiety, chronic pain or PTSD. On average, patients reported improvements in condition-specific symptoms and in general health and quality of…

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Homelessness and Social Issues Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Changes in health-related quality of life over the first three months of medical marijuana use

Michelle R. Lent, Thomas R. McCalmont, Megan M. Short, Karen L. Dugosh
Journal of Cannabis Research Summary & key facts 2024 4 citations

This prospective observational study followed 438 adults who were new medical‑marijuana patients in Pennsylvania. Using the SF‑36 survey, participants reported statistically significant improvements in all eight areas of health‑related quality of life from before starting medical marijuana to three months later (P < .001 for all domains). Older participants showed…

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Homelessness and Social Issues Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology

Improvements in health-related quality of life are maintained long-term in patients prescribed medicinal cannabis in Australia: The QUEST Initiative 12-month follow-up observational study

Margaret-Ann Tait, Daniel Costa, Rachel Campbell, Leon N. Warne, Richard Norman, Stephan A. Schug, et al.
PLoS ONE Summary & key facts 2025 3 citations

This large Australian real-world study followed 2,353 adults who were newly prescribed medicinal cannabis oil and found that patient-reported quality of life, fatigue, sleep, pain (in people with chronic pain), and mood (in people with anxiety or depression) showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements that were maintained up to…

Bipolar Disorder and Treatment Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Sleep and related disorders
Summaries and links are for general information and education only. They are not a substitute for reading the original publication or for professional medical, legal, or other advice. Always refer to the linked source for the full study.