Can psychedelics treat depression? Maybe, and you might not

The use of the drugs in treating low mood has sparked debate, not least about the necessity of a hallucinogenic experience. But a new discovery may provide an answer

Robitussin has been a staple of American pharmacies since the late 1940s – but since the 1960s, people have swigged bottles of the cough medicine recreationally because, at a high enough dose, its active ingredient, dextromethorphan, can cause hallucinations (so-called “robotripping”). Now, that ingredient, common to many cough medications, has a potential new use – as an antidepressant.

In recent years, studies have found that conventional antidepressants are only marginally more effective than biologically inactive placebos. Meanwhile, big pharmaceutical companies conduct very little research into mental health drugs. So researchers and sufferers have instead placed their hopes in psychedelic drugs usually considered hallucinatory, such as psilocybin or LSD. Yet the evidence of their effectiveness as an antidepressant comes from small trials, one of the largest involving just 233 people – and no national government medicine regulator has formally approved them for this use. Against this backdrop, a legitimate drug company has quietly moved dextromethorphan beyond robotripping into a, legally approved depression treatment – but with an important twist.