New Northwell lab will test psychedelic drugs on patients
The team at Zucker Hillside Hospital on the Queens-Nassau border will be administering cannabis, MDMA, commonly know as ecstasy or molly, and psilocybin, a compound in so-called "magic mushrooms."
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There's a new type of research lab for Northwell Health.
The Center for Psychedelics Research and Treatment is getting ready to study the effects of legal and illegal substances on patients seeking psychiatric help.
"Psychedelics have sort of come into a new age now where they're being looked at not simply as drugs of recreation or self-exploration or even a drug of abuse but really as therapeutic medicine," said Dr. Nehal Vadhan, with Northwell Health.
The team at Zucker Hillside Hospital on the Queens-Nassau border will be administering cannabis, MDMA, commonly know as ecstasy or molly, and psilocybin, a compound in so-called "magic mushrooms."
They will see if these drugs help treat symptoms of diagnosis like schizophrenia or depression.
"We're looking at psilocybin to treat symptoms of social anxiety disorder. Drugs like psilocybin tend to help people form a connection with the outside world," said Dr. Vadhan.
The lab also has a "bar" to study alcohol use in near real-world scenarios and develop treatments.
"Very few studies can actually measure the amount that someone is willing to drink under certain conditions, and we have that ability here," said Dr. Vadhan.
Included in the lab is this a driving simulator where doctors will be able to study how impaired a patient gets behind the wheel after using drugs and alcohol.
"Field sobriety tests, measuring blood alcohol content, none of those things really are great at discerning impairment," said Dr. Vadhan.
Vadhan hopes the first lab study will be conducted in the coming weeks after final permission from the government.
