New proposal considering magic mushrooms use as mental health treatment for Atlanta first responders

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The City of Atlanta is exploring new alternatives to address mental health among first responders.

A new proposal by Atlanta City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari looks to add psilocybin and ketamine as mental health treatments.

Psilocybin is the active compound found in some mushrooms that causes a psychedelic effect, also known as “magic mushrooms.”

Ketamine is a synthetic pharmaceutical originally developed as an aesthetic. Ketamine is legal in Georgia under the supervision of a licensed professional. Psilocybin, which is illegal, is making similar strides in the medical setting.

Dr. Bradley Cooke, a former Georgia State professor of neuroscience, said clinical trials have proven the drugs are effective in treating severe PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

“There is considerable evidence especially from placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials that drugs like psilocybin and ketamine are quite effective at treating people with depression and anxiety and PTSD,” Cooke said.

It’s something police, fire and EMS departments across the nation are exploring as suicide rates continue to rise.

Bakhtiari said she was at an out-of-state event with first responders who praised how the drugs helped with trauma experienced on the job. She said the resolution directs the human resources department to research the positives and negatives.

Bakhtiari said the goal is to see if they can be added as mental health treatments under the city’s healthcare plan.

“We have a higher case of suicide rates and suicide ideation. If we expect people to be here in our city on the front lines protecting folks, we need to expand what mental health services, look like,” she said.

The human resources department is set to bring those findings back to the city council at the end of this year.

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