Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has received evidence on the potential clinical use of psilocybin under controlled conditions to treat serious psychiatric illness; whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of its use; and what procedures his Department has to (a) initiate and (b) undertake such an assessment.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and regulates medicine, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy.

Clinical trials are underway in the UK to investigate psilocybin's use for various mental health conditions, with the open trials being in phases 1, 2, and 3, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction. The MHRA is aware and is supporting the trials in this area to determine benefit versus risk. The MHRA is ready to review any data submitted to ensure an assessment of the quality, safety, and efficacy is completed rapidly upon submission.