Chile approves its first psilocybin clinical trial for treatment-resistant depression
Chile's ISP authorised a Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez study with about 68 people. What will be researched, what does not change in the law, and why the topic draws so much interest.
In late October 2026, Chile's Public Health Institute (ISP) authorised the country's first clinical trial to evaluate psilocybin, the active compound in some mushrooms, as a treatment for treatment-resistant depression: depression that does not improve with at least two antidepressants.
What will be studied
- The study was submitted by Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (UAI).
- About 68 people aged 18 to 65 will take part.
- It is a phase 2 trial focused on safety and efficacy.
- It is randomised and double-blind: some participants receive psilocybin and others an active placebo, and neither patients nor researchers know who gets which.
- Participants will be accompanied throughout the session.
What does not change
Psilocybin remains a controlled substance in Chile under Law 20,000, and selling it is still prohibited. This trial is authorised medical research, not legalisation. Outside a clinical study, there is no approved therapeutic use in the country.
Why it draws so much interest
For years, universities and research centres in several countries have studied psilocybin alongside psychotherapy. For many people the topic opens a wider conversation: the relationship between consciousness, deep experiences and emotional healing, something ancestral cultures of the Americas explored for centuries with their own medicines and rituals.
At the same time, science asks for caution: phase 2 results are a step, not a conclusion, and more studies are needed before any approval.
