Read full show notes here: https://bit.ly/3EwSJ2y Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://bit.ly/4c602k2 David Nutt is a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and the Director of the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit in the Division of Brain Sciences at the Imperial College London. His research focuses on illicit drugs—their harm, classification, and potential for therapeutic use in psychiatry. In this episode, David discusses his framework for assessing the potential harm caused by common recreational drugs and explains how they are regulated, which is oftentimes misaligned with actual risk. He describes in detail the neurobiology, mechanisms of action, and addiction potential of alcohol, opiates, cocaine, and methamphetamine and contrasts those with psychedelics, which have been given a similar regulatory classification despite their relatively low risk of harm and their numerous potential therapeutic uses. Additionally, David explains the promise of psychedelics like ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin for treating drug addiction and depression and discusses how political pressures have created roadblocks to future necessary research. We discuss: 00:00:00 - intro 00:00:10 - David’s early interest in the brain and experience in psychiatry 00:08:00 - David’s brief work on government drug policy in the UK 00:11:20 - A scale for rating the relative harm of certain drugs 00:17:44 - The contrast in regulation between cannabis vs. alcohol and why research on potential benefits of cannabis is lacking 00:23:35 - The opiate crisis and rise of fentanyl: the cause and potential solution 00:33:11 - The science of addiction and the potential use of psychedelics for treating drug addiction 00:41:32 - Cocaine: mechanisms of action and risks 00:48:38 - Methamphetamine and crystal meth: mechanisms of action and neurotoxicity 00:53:12 - How psychedelics came to be classified as schedule I drugs despite their numerous therapeutic uses 01:09:45 - The history of MDMA and the bad science and political forces leading to its demonization 01:14:26 - History of ketamine, medical use of esketamine, and the waning effects of psychedelics with increasing usage 01:21:28 - Psilocybin for depression: David’s promising research and the roadblocks to more robust experiments -------- About: The Peter Attia Drive is a weekly, ultra-deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing health, longevity, critical thinking…and a few other things. With over 35 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including fasting, ketosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more. Peter is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice deals extensively with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease), while simultaneously improving healthspan (quality of life). Learn more about Peter: https://bit.ly/313cDn5 Subscribe to receive exclusive subscriber-only content: https://bit.ly/3Bw5wjA Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mqxDMM Connect with Peter on: Facebook: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDTW Instagram: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDIG Subscribe to The Drive: Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveApplePodcasts Overcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveOvercast Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheDriveSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheDriveGoogle