Sheppard Pratt plans to open center to research and treat people with psychedelic drug

Sheppard Pratt, the Towson-based behavioral health provider, said it is opening a new center to provide care for hard-to-treat illnesses that will include use of psilocybin, a psychedelic medication. Psilocybin will be used in research at a center within Sheppard Pratt’s new Institute for Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics, which will bring together a range of clinicians and treatments. Sometimes called magic mushrooms, psilocybin has shown to be effective in clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression and other mood disorders, though it remains illegal at the federal level, where it’s listed as a schedule 1 drug under the U.S. Controlled Substance Act.