Candyflipping refers to mixing LSD (acid) and MDMA (molly), both Schedule I substances in the United States. But now, psychedelic drug development startup Mind Medicine Inc. could produce an FDA-approved treatment for certain mental illnesses one day with the combination.
LSD, psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms), MDMA, and even ketamine have entered a new age of medical treatment thanks to organizations like MAPS and various independent university research teams. While the drugs are often associated with partying, JR Rahn, the founder and co-CEO of Mind Medicine, doesn’t want people to think what he’s doing is for ravers.
“What we don’t want is people think they can take this every weekend. This is medicine, it should be treated as such,” says Rahn. “We are not developing this so people have a better rave.”
With most MDMA and psilocybin treatments, the drugs are prescribed and given in low dosages and always paired with therapy. While still paired with therapy, the dosages in Rahn’s trials are significantly higher: 100 μg of LSD and 100 mg of MDMA. “One will definitely have a hallucinatory experience during this,” says Rahn.
LSD can sometimes induce paranoia along with revelatory experiences; the goal of the study is to see if the pairing of MDMA, which can induce empathy and trust, can offset those feelings and produce an all-around better therapeutic environment.
“Inducing an overall primarily positive acute response during psychedelic assisted therapy is critical because several studies showed that a more positive acute experience is linked to a greater therapeutic long-term effect in patients,” Dr. Liechti, who is the principal investigator of the clinical trial, said in a statement.
