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CompletedNot applicableResults posted

Psilocybin-facilitated Smoking Cessation Treatment: A Pilot Study

NCT01943994 · Johns Hopkins University

Closed to entry
Status
Not accepting participants
Not applicable
Phase
82
Target enrolment
2
Study sites
1 US states

What it is testing

Summary

One of the most promising lines of investigation for the therapeutic use of hallucinogens in the 1960s and 1970s was in the treatment of drug dependence. The investigators propose to examine psilocybin administration combined with a structured smoking cessation treatment program in nicotine dependent individuals in order to provide preliminary data on the efficacy of this combined treatment for smoking cessation. Prior work in the investigators laboratory has shown that under carefully prepared and supportive conditions, psilocybin administration can facilitate highly salient experiences with enduring personal meaning and spiritual significance. It is plausible that embedding such highly meaningful experiences into a drug dependence cessation attempt may provide an enduring motivation for remaining abstinent. Cigarette smoking is a good model system for studying drug dependence because users are less likely to be challenged by the many social and economic impairments that often accompany dependence on other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, or alcohol. More specifically, the investigators propose to conduct a randomized controlled comparative efficacy study in which either psilocybin or transdermal nicotine patch are administered under highly supportive conditions to individuals who are nicotine-dependent cigarette smokers, who have had multiple unsuccessful quit attempts, and who continue to desire to quit smoking. Other than nicotine dependence, participants will be healthy. Fifteen participants have already completed a preliminary open-label pilot-study with no control condition. Eighty additional participants will be enrolled and randomized to either psilocybin (n=40), or nicotine patch (n=40) treatment. Participants will receive a 13-week course of cognitive behavioral therapy for smoking cessation, with Target Quit Date set for week 5. After several preparation meetings with study monitors, participants will have either a single day-long psilocybin session using a high dose (30 mg/70 kg), or a standard 8 to 10-week course of nicotine patch treatment. Participant smoking status will be assessed repeatedly for 8 weeks after the Target Quit Date, including biological verification of smoking status through breath and urine samples. Smoking status will also be assessed at three follow up sessions approximately 3, 6, and 12 months after the Target Quit Date. Additionally, 50 of these participants (25 per treatment condition) will undergo MRI scanning before and after Target Quit Date to assess the brain-based mechanisms associated with these treatments. Individuals assigned to the nicotine patch study treatment condition will be eligible to undergo an optional high dose psilocybin session after completing the 6-month follow-up meeting.

Summary as written by the trial’s own sponsor and published on ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. It is the sponsor’s description, reproduced unedited, not an assessment by this site.

What counts as success

Primary outcome measures

  • Prolonged Abstinence: Biologically Verified Cigarette Smoking Abstinence for 6 Months

    Measured over From the target quit date to the 6-month follow up

A trial succeeds or fails on its primary outcome, declared in advance. Everything else it reports is secondary by definition.

Who can take part

Eligibility, as published

21 Years to 65 Years
Ages
All
Sex
Accepted
Healthy volunteers
Inclusion Criteria: * 21 to 65 years old. * Have given written informed consent. * Have a high school level of education. * Be a daily smoker with multiple unsuccessful previous quit attempts, and report a continued desire to quit smoking. * Agree to abstain from smoking and alcohol for 24-hours, and caffeine for 12-hours prior to MRI scanning (for MRI participants only). * Agree to abstain from smoking for the psilocybin session from 1 hour before psilocybin administration until at least 30 hours afterwards. * Agree to consume approximately the same amount of caffeine-containing beverage (e.g., coffee, tea) that he/she consumes on a usual morning, before arriving at the research unit on the morning of drug session day. If the volunteer does not routinely consume caffeinated beverages, he or she must agree not to do so on session day. * Agree to refrain from using any psychoactive drugs, including alcoholic beverages, within 24 hours of psilocybin administration. Exceptions include caffeine and nicotine. * Be healthy as determined by screening for medical problems via a personal interview, a medical questionnaire, a physical examination, an electrocardiogram (ECG), and routine medical blood and urinalysis laboratory tests. Exclusion Criteria: * Women who are pregnant (positive pregnancy test) or nursing, or are not practicing an effective means of birth control * Cardiovascular conditions: uncontrolled hypertension, angina, a clinically significant ECG abnormality (e.g., atrial fibrilation), TIA in the last 6 months stroke, peripheral or pulmonary vascular disease * Epilepsy with history of seizures * Insulin-dependent diabetes; if taking oral hypoglycemic agent, then no history of hypoglycemia * Currently taking psychoactive prescription medication on a regular basis * Currently taking on a regular (e.g., daily) basis any medications having a primary centrally-acting pharmacological effect on serotonin neurons or medications that are MAO inhibitors. For individuals who have intermittent or PRN use of such medications, psilocybin sessions will not be conducted until at least 5 half-lives of the agent have elapsed after the last dose. * Have HIV or Syphilis. * Have any current neurological illnesses including, but not limited to, seizure disorders, frequent migraines or on prophylaxis, multiple sclerosis, movement disorders, history of significant head trauma, or CNS tumor. * Morbidly obese, or severely underweight as determined by medical examination. * Not suitable to undergo an MRI session due to certain implanted devices (cardiac pacemaker or neurostimulator, some artificial joints, metal pins, surgical clips or other implanted metal parts), body morphology, or claustrophobia (for MRI participants only). * Current or past history of meeting DSM-IV criteria for Schizophrenia, Psychotic Disorder (unless substance-induced or due to a medical condition), or Bipolar I or II Disorder. * Current or past history within the last 5 years of meeting DSM-IV criteria for alcohol or drug dependence (excluding caffeine and nicotine) or severe major depression. * Have a first or second degree relative with schizophrenia, psychotic disorder (unless substance induced or due to a medical condition), or bipolar I or II disorder. * Currently meets DSM-IV criteria for Dissociative Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Major Depression, or Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

Where

2 study sites

FacilityCityRegionCountry
Behavioral Pharmacology Research UnitBaltimoreMarylandUnited States
Neuroimaging Research Branch, NIDA-IRPBaltimoreMarylandUnited States

On the registry

Contact the trial directly

This site does not enrol anyone and is not involved in this trial. To ask about taking part, use the sponsor’s own contact details on the official registry record, which is also where the most current version of everything above lives.

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NCT01943994 on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Last updated in the registry 2025-05-25. Registry records change; this page reflects the data build of 2026-08-25.

Related

Where this trial sits