ADHD: microdosing psychedelics could help people gain more mindfulness - what are the UK laws around this?

Magic Mushrooms and LSD may help improve mindfulness in adults with ADHD, after studies have shown how micro-dosing psychedelics is showing promise in treating conditions like depression, anxiety and OCD. 

Mindfulness is the ability to be present and allocate attention to what is currently experienced. However, those with ADHD have difficulting focusing and may be more impulsive.

Published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, the researchers looked at 233 adults with ADHD or ADHD-like symptoms who already intended to start microdosing, and collected data two weeks and four weeks after they started. “We found improvements in all facets of mindfulness after four weeks of microdosing,” said study author Eline C. H. M. Haijen. “Their average mindfulness score at the 4 week time point was comparable to mean mindfulness scores of general population samples.” 

Current medications for ADHD include Adderall and Ritalin, which have been proven to be highly effective at treating symptoms. However, these are in short supply, and coupled with the ongoing under-diagnosis in women and social stigma surrounding medication, creates barriers for those struggling to access this effective treatment.

Psychedelics may seem like an experimental method to help with disorders, but research has also revealed how psilocybin therapy can help those with anorexia - although the study is still being tested with further human trials. 

A British company, Small Pharma, has led the first regulated trial for psychedelic therapies which could be used to treat conditions such as depression, as since Brexit, several companies have been approved to test various treatments under new rules.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) created the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) with the aim to speed up the time it takes to get new medicines to patients.

When introducing the ILAP in January 2021, Lord Bethell, Minister for Innovation at the time, said: “We are absolutely determined to make sure UK patients can access the latest cutting-edge medicines as quickly as possible to help everybody live longer, healthier and happier lives.

“Now we have left the EU, we have the freedom to innovate and cut red tape to speed up the approval process for new treatments and ensure patient safety is at the heart of everything we do.

“The (licensing and access) pathway represents a totally new way of thinking and is a truly collaborative approach between the healthcare system, the pharmaceutical industry and patients with the common goal of getting the best products to the people who need them as safely and quickly as possible."