Showing posts sorted by relevance for query psychedelics. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query psychedelics. Sort by date Show all posts

Sunday, January 16, 2022

HIP CAPITALI$M
What to know about the booming psychedelics industry, where companies are racing to turn magic mushrooms and MDMA into approved medicines

ylee@businessinsider.com (Yeji Jesse Lee) 
© jackfoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus Psilocybin mushrooms on a mossy log jackfoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus

A year ago, nonprofits and scrappy startups made up the psychedelics space.
Now, companies are raising millions from investors and going public on major exchanges.

Here's what you need to know about the booming psychedelics industry.

The psychedelics space is booming.

Over the few years, startups focused on turning psychedelic compounds into approved medicines have raised hundreds of millions of dollars from private investors and dozens have gone public.

Research on compounds like psilocybin, the active compound found in magic mushrooms, and MDMA is resurfacing after years of neglect amid the war on drugs.

As companies get closer to receiving approval from the Food and Drug Administration to bring their psychedelic treatments to patients, they've also been planning out their patent strategies to carve out their share of the market.

Here's a look at the booming psychedelics industry:

© Anitram/Shutterstock Psilocybin mushrooms Anitram/Shutterstock


VCs have deployed millions into psychedelics startups — here's what they say will happen next

Venture-capital investors have been at the center of the psychedelics boom. In early 2020, startups in the space said they were beginning to see signs that investor appetite was growing.

Then, we saw a flurry of activity, which one industry exec called a "psychedelic renaissance."

Soon, VC firms focused on psychedelics companies specifically began to emerge. Insider's list of the top 11 venture-capital investors in the space collectively deployed $139.8 million into startups in just a few short years.

They also gave us their predictions for the coming months. Some told us that biotech giants were looking to get into the space, while others predicted a boom in tech companies and clinics that would lay the groundwork for when medications come to market. We can also expect to see new compounds and a slew of startup failures, they said.

The top 3 VC firms told Insider about the green and red flags they see among startups in the space.

Read more:

Meet the top 11 VCs who've bet the most cash on turning MDMA and magic mushrooms into medical treatments

Top VCs in psychedelics say Big Pharma is knocking at the door — and it could fuel a wave of deals

Top VCs predict new compounds and impending failures will shape the future of the psychedelics industry

3 top VCs who've sunk the most cash into psychedelics say they prioritize data, deep expertise, and a clear market strategy when placing their bets

Mainstream startup accelerators are also eyeing the space

© Provided by Business Insider Woven Science and Founders Factory are teaming up to create an accelerator program for psychedelics startups. From left: Sahil Sachdev, head of venture design at Founders Factory; Nick von Christierson, CEO & Co-Founder at Woven Science; Shona Chalmers, venture design lead at Founders Factory; Damian Routley, chief commercial officer at Founders Factory Woven Science & Founders Factory

In a signal that the psychedelics space is becoming increasingly mainstream, startup accelerators known for investing in tech, retail, and healthcare are jumping into funding companies in the industry.

Famed startups accelerator Y Combinator is dabbling in psychedelics: over the past few years, the organization has accepted at least four startups into its program. Insider spoke to three of the startups to ask them about their experiences and the advice they would give to other founders looking to be accepted.

Founders Factory, an accelerator that's worked with companies like L'Oréal, Johnson & Johnson, and Marks & Spencer, is an example of another mainstream player that's eyeing the $100 billion industry.

The organization is partnering with psychedelics company Woven Science to to support a handful of early-stage startups focused on psychedelics-based mental-health treatments.

Read more:

The famed startup accelerator Y Combinator is wading into the $100 billion psychedelics industry. Here's how 3 psychedelics firms got into the program.

A startup accelerator that's worked with J&J and L'Oréal is getting into psychedelics as the industry goes mainstream

CEOs set the tone for the burgeoning space

© Provided by Business Insider ATAI Life Sciences CEO Florian Brand. ATAI Life Sciences

A slew of companies have entered the psychedelics industry, but a few stand out as frontrunners.

In February 2020, Atai CEO Florian Brand said that he was turning to pharma and biotech investors as the company looked to further grow. At the time, Atai was a private company that made headlines for winning over backers like Mike Novogratz and Peter Thiel.

In March of this year, the company raised a record $157 million, pushing psychedelics further into the mainstream.

Meanwhile, change has been bubbling on the state and local levels. In November, Oregon legalized psilocybin for therapeutic purposes — but that doesn't mean you'll see the giants rush in.

The biggest companies in the space told Insider they were focused on seeking approval for their experimental substances from the Food and Drug Administration. Atai founder Christian Angermayer said recently that while he personally supports decriminalization, he thinks legalizing psychedelics could create a backlash for the industry.

Compass Pathways CEO George Goldsmith told Insider soon after the company's IPO last fall that he expects treatments to come on the market by 2025. Atai's Brand said there are challenges to address between now and when treatments become widely available, such as scalability and reimbursement.

Read more:

The CEO of a $1.2 billion psychedelics company told us he expects psilocybin-based treatments by 2025 and predicts a 'Cambrian explosion' of innovation in the industry

The founder of the biggest psychedelics company says legalizing magic mushrooms risks creating a backlash that could undermine the industry

The CEO of the biggest psychedelics company lays out the 3 challenges he has to address before treatments hit the market

Startups are raising big sums for drug development and clinics

© Provided by Business Insider The first page of Compass Pathway's 2019 pitch deck. Compass Pathways

Drug development takes a lot of capital, and startups are focused on getting the funding they need.

Insider got ahold of three pitch decks that companies used to raise tens of millions of dollars. Beckley Psytech raised $18.6 million in December to develop a slew of new treatments focused on rare diseases and mental health.

Compass Pathways raised $80 million from investors like Founders Fund in 2019, fueling its rise to the top.

Meanwhile, startups focused on clinics, where psychedelic treatments are expected to be administered, are raising capital too. Novamind raised $7.8 million with this pitch deck.

© Provided by Business Insider Psilocybin found in magic mushrooms is a type of psychedelic Alexander Volkov/Getty Images

Another way to get access to capital is to go public, and there are now dozens of psychedelics companies in the US and Canada.

We broke down the 7 companies with the biggest market caps and laid out their business models, drug pipelines, and timeline to get treatments to market.

Read more:

What to know about the major public psychedelics companies, including a guide to their business models and when they expect to sell medications

See the pitch deck a psychedelics startup just used to raise $18.6 million to develop new treatments derived from the Sonoran Desert toad

See the 20-slide pitch deck a psychedelics startup used to raise funds to build out a network of ketamine clinics

See the pitch deck that Compass Pathways used to raise $80 million and fuel its rise into one of the world's biggest psychedelics companies


The top startups are racing forward

© The Synthesis Institute A look at a legal psychedelic retreat hosted by The Synthesis Institute The Synthesis Institute

Private startups are still a core part of the space.

Earlier this year, we published a list of the psychedelics startups that raised the most cash in 2020. The 14 names on that list raised over $222 million.

We recently asked the biggest investors in the space to name two top startups in the industry — one they had invested in and one in which they hadn't — and came back with 15 names.

Read more:

Meet the top 14 psychedelics startups raising the most cash to develop new ways of treating depression, addiction, and more

VCs name the top 15 startups in the psychedelics industry

As drug discovery and development heats up, companies are using patents to raise money and protect market share

© Provided by Business Insider Psychedelics companies are using patents to raise funds and protect future market shares. Marianne Ayala/Insider

Psychedelics treatments based on psilocybin and MDMA are inching closer to FDA approval.

In November, Compass Pathways, one of the few psychedelics companies in mid-stage trials of its psychedelic treatment, released data around its phase IIb trials for its a synthetic version psilocybin, the psychoactive component found in magic mushrooms, to treat treatment-resistant depression, or depression that doesn't get better with at least two other treatments.

Compass is also in the midst of a brewing debate over the role that patents should play in the world of psychedelics, which has traditionally been a field defined by open science and natural compounds. Critics say the psychedelics giant is attempting to dominate the industry with its overreaching patent strategy, while Compass says it is only using patents to protect new inventions.

But virtually every company developing psychedelics as FDA-approved treatments is employing a patent strategy to protect its market share and raise money from investors. Patent lawyers told Insider that a slew of patent disclosures could determine the winners and losers of the space.

Read more:

Experts share how a brewing fight could shape the future of the $100 billion psychedelics industry

Compass Pathways released its latest study on a psychedelic to treat depression. A top Wall Street analyst says the results are 'very encouraging.'

The future of the psychedelics industry hinges on patents. Whoever wins could make billions.
Academics, lawyers, and analysts are wading into the burgeoning space

© Provided by Business Insider DMT research at Imperial College London Thomas Angus, Imperial College London

Meanwhile, it's not just investors and companies that are building out the foundation for what could become a $100 billion market.

Academics have continued to publish promising studies on the benefits of psychedelic compounds.

Wealthy philanthropists are responsible for the rush of funding entering academia as prestigious universities set up psychedelic research centers. One scientist told us that as psychedelic research has emerged from the fringes, donors have begun to catch the "psychedelic bug."

"What psychedelics seems to do is, when it grabs you, you really seem to get it," he said.

Lawyers and analysts are also wading into the space. As a slew of companies began to go public, analysts at investment banks began to cover the industry. Lawyers originally focused on cannabis clients also took the plunge.

Read more:

A Canadian investment bank that capitalized on the cannabis rush is now looking toward a new market. Meet the first analyst covering the burgeoning psychedelics industry.

Cannabis lawyers are wading into the psychedelics industry as companies push forward with mega-deals and medical trials to win a slice of the $100 billion market

Wealthy donors are fueling a psychedelics renaissance as universities vie for funding to study 'magic mushrooms' and MDMA

A landmark study shows the main compound in magic mushrooms could rival a leading depression drug

This article was first published on Aug 3, 2021 and was updated on Jan 14, 2022.
\

Thursday, June 27, 2024

 

Magic mushrooms are the most-used psychedelic drug



As states change laws, federal policymakers face urgent questions



Reports and Proceedings

RAND CORPORATION




Psilocybin mushrooms are the psychedelic substance most often used in the U.S., with its popularity outpacing other psychedelic drugs such as MDMA (known as ecstasy), according to a new RAND report.

 

Based on a new national survey, researchers found that about 12% of respondents reported using psilocybin at some point over their lives and 3.1% reported using the substance over the past year. An estimated 8 million American adults used psilocybin in 2023.

 

Psychedelic substances such as psilocybin mushrooms and MDMA long have been touted as holding promise for treating various mental health conditions, with enthusiasm about the substances growing during the past decade. Although clinical research continues to grow, less attention has focused on the changing policy landscape for some psychedelics.

 

The report, which looks broadly at emerging issues involving the use and supply of psychedelics for nonclinical purposes, suggests that as state and local officials ease regulations on the substances, federal policymakers must decide whether they want psychedelics to follow in the footsteps of the for-profit cannabis model or take another path.

 

“The current situation with psychedelics reminds me of where we were with cannabis policy 12 years ago” said Beau Kilmer, lead author of the report and a senior policy researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. “Now is the time for federal policymakers to decide if they want to shape these policy changes or stay on the sidelines.”

 

Researchers caution that there is concern that if efforts to expand non-clinical supply of psychedelics do not go well, it could generate a backlash that may have a chilling effect on research and potential therapeutic uses.

 

“Based on what happened with clinical research on psychedelics after the 1960s, this is not an idle concern,” said Kilmer, codirector of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center.

 

The RAND report is based on several sources of information, including a December 2023 survey of a representative sample of 3,791 American adults who were asked about their use of a variety of substances, including psychedelics. The survey included several questions specific to psilocybin use and how it was obtained. The researchers also analyzed data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and the National Incident-Based Reporting System.

 

Researchers interviewed legal experts, policy advocates, regulators, clinical researchers, mental health providers, and representatives from organizations working in the emerging psychedelics industry for the U.S. and abroad. The work also included discussions with members of Indigenous communities about their spiritual medicines.

 

“Policy changes may affect Indigenous people who have longstanding traditions with certain spiritual medicines that are commonly referred to as psychedelics,” said Michelle Priest, coauthor of the report and an assistant policy researcher at RAND. “Engaging respectfully with Indigenous community members who are authorized to speak on these topics can help craft policies that benefit from generations of wisdom while protecting Indigenous rights.”

 

Despite the federal prohibition on supply and possession outside approved clinical research and some religious exemptions, some state and local governments are loosening their approaches to psychedelics, including approaches that legalize some forms of supply to adults for any reason.

 

For states considering alternatives to prohibiting the supply of psychedelics, the report highlights how there are many options besides the for-profit approach. For example, states could allow people to forage or grow their own, or allow them to join non-profit collectives or cooperatives. There also is the supervised use model that’s operating in Oregon for psilocybin and is expected to be up and running in Colorado in 2025.

 

One difference from cannabis policy debates, the researchers note, is the role of supervision in policy discussions surrounding psychedelics. Even in places that do not adopt the supervision model being implemented in Oregon and Colorado, policymakers will likely confront many decisions surrounding the regulation of facilitators and supervision settings.

 

The RAND report found that unlike people who use cannabis and many other drugs, those who use psychedelics typically do so infrequently. The RAND survey found that 0.9% of respondents reported using psilocybin during the past month, compared to 20% of respondents reporting cannabis use during the past month.

 

Researchers estimate that among all American adults, the total number of use days in the past month for cannabis was on the order of 650 million, whereas the comparable figure for hallucinogens was closer to 7 million.

 

Among those reporting past year use of psilocybin in the RAND survey, 47% reported microdosing the last time they used. Microdosing involves using small amounts of psilocybin or other psychedelics -- often 1/10th to 1/20th of a typical dose.

 

Researchers say one takeaway from the analysis is the extent to which infrequent users drive the market for psychedelics. For cannabis, the market for infrequent users is negligible, accounting for about 5% of the total use days in the past month. For psychedelics, that figure is closer to 60%.

 

“While price is a major policy lever when we think about regulating cannabis and alcohol, it will likely play a much smaller role for psychedelics since infrequent users currently drive the market and they tend to spend relatively little on these substances,” said Rajeev Ramchand, coauthor of the report and codirector of the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute.

 

The researchers found that when they were writing the report, it became clear how little has been published about the markets and patterns of use for many psychedelics -- especially psilocybin. They offer ideas for improving existing surveys such as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and recommend conducting qualitative research (ideally longitudinally) with those who use psychedelics and those who produce and distribute these substances in legal or illegal settings.

 

Support for the study was provided by a gift to RAND from the Sergey Brin Family Foundation and internal RAND support.

 

Other authors of the study are Rhianna C. Rogers, Ben Senator and Keytin Palmer.

 

The RAND Social and Economic Well-Being division seeks to actively improve the health, and social and economic well-being of populations and communities throughout the world.

 

RAND Health Care promotes healthier societies by improving health care systems in the United States and other countries.

Monday, January 16, 2023

Alberta’s new policy on psychedelic drug treatment for mental illness: Will Canada lead the psychedelic renaissance?


Erika Dyck, 
Professor and Canada Research Chair in the History of Health & Social Justice,
 University of Saskatchewan
THE CONVERSATION
Sun, January 15, 2023 

Psychedelics are being held up as a potential solution to the growing need for mental health treatment. But, magic mushrooms are not magic bullets.
 (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Patients in Alberta will now be able to legally consider adding psychedelic-assisted therapy to the list of treatment options available for mental illnesses.

Alberta psychiatrists and policymakers suggest that they are getting ahead of the curve by creating regulations to ensure the safe use of these hallucinogenic substances in a therapeutically supported environment. As of Jan. 16, the option is available only through registered and licensed psychiatrists in the province.

Alberta’s new policy may set a precedent that moves Canadians one step closer to accepting psychedelics as medicinal substances, but historically these drugs were widely sought out for recreational and non-clinical purposes. And, if cannabis has taught us anything, medicalizing may simply be a short stop before decriminalizing and commercializing.

Psychedelic drugs — including LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), MDMA (ecstasy) and DMT (ayahuasca) — are criminalized substances in most jurisdictions around the world, but some people are suggesting it is time to re-imagine them as medicines. A few places are even considering decriminalizing psychedelics altogether, claiming that naturally occurring plants like mushrooms, even “magic” ones, should not be subject to legal restrictions.

In the wake of cannabis reforms, it appears that psychedelics may be the next target in the dismantling of the war on drugs. Canada made bold strides internationally with its widespread cannabis decriminalization, but are Canadians ready to lead the psychedelic renaissance?

Early psychedelic research


There is some precedent for taking the lead. In the 1950s and ‘60s, an earlier generation of researchers pioneered the first wave of psychedelic science, including Canadian-based psychiatrists who coined the word psychedelic and made headlines for dramatic breakthroughs using LSD to treat alcoholism.

Vancouver-based therapists also used LSD and psilocybin mushrooms to treat depression and homosexuality. While homosexuality was considered both illegal and a mental disorder until later in the 1970s, psychedelic therapists pushed back against these labels as patients treated for same-sex attraction more often experienced feelings of acceptance — reactions that aligned this particular approach in Vancouver with the gay rights movement.


Despite positive reports of clinical benefits, by the end of the 1960s psychedelics had earned a reputation for recreational use and clinical abuse. And, there was good reason to draw these connections, as psychedelic drugs had moved from pharmaceutical experimentation into mainstream culture, and some researchers had come under scrutiny for unethical practices.

Regulation and criminalization

Most legal psychedelics ground to a halt in the 1970s with a set of regulatory prohibitions and cultural backlash. In public health reports since the 1970s, psychedelics have been described as objects of unethical research, recreational abuse and personal risk including injury and even death.

Underground chemists and consumers tried to combat this image, suggesting that psychedelics provided intellectual and spiritual insights and enhanced creativity.

Most jurisdictions around the world criminalized psychedelics, whether for clinical research or personal experimentation. Indigenous and non-western uses of hallucinogenic plants of course stretch back even further in history, and these too came under legal scrutiny through a combination of colonial pressures to assimilate and a looming war on drugs that did not distinguish between religious practices and drug-seeking behaviours.

The return of psychedelics


At the moment, the next generation of scientific research on psychedelics still lags behind the popular enthusiasm that has catapulted these substances into the mainstream. 
(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

In the last decade, regulations prohibiting psychedelics have started relaxing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has designated breakthrough therapy status to MDMA and psilocybin, based on their performance in clinical trials with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and treatment-resistant depression, respectively.

Health Canada has provided exemptions for the use of psilocybin for patients with end-of-life anxiety, and has started approving suppliers and therapists interested in working with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Training programs for psychedelic therapists are popping up across Canada, perhaps anticipating a change in regulation and the current lack of trained professionals ready to deliver psychedelic medicine.

At the moment, the next generation of scientific research on psychedelics still lags behind the popular enthusiasm that has catapulted these substances into the mainstream. Celebrity testimonials and compelling patient accounts are competing for our attention.

Meanwhile, the growing burden of mental illness continues to overwhelm our health-care systems. Psychedelics are being held up as a potential solution. But, magic mushrooms are not magic bullets.
Beyond the medical marketplace

Historically hallucinogenic substances have defied simple categorization as medicines, spiritual enhancers, toxins, sacred substances, rave drugs, etc. Whether or not Health Canada, or the province of Alberta, reclassifies psychedelics as a bona fide therapeutic option, these psychoactive substances will continue to attract consumers outside of clinical settings.

Canada has an opportunity to take the lead once more in this so-called psychedelic renaissance. But, it might be our chance to invest in more sustainable solutions to harm reduction and ways of including Indigenous perspectives, rather than racing to push psychedelics into the medical marketplace.

Indigenous approaches to sacred plants are not only about consuming substances, but involve preparation, intention and integration, often structured in ritualistic settings that are as much about spiritual health as physical or mental health.

This cosmology and approach does not easily fit under the Canada Health Act, nor is it obvious who should be responsible for regulating or administering rituals that sit outside of our health-care system. These differences in how we might imagine the value of psychedelics is an opportunity to rethink the place of Indigenous knowledge in health systems.

We are well positioned to take a sober approach to the psychedelic hype, which has been driven in large part by financial interests, and consider what aspects of the psychedelic experience we want to preserve.

Now may be a good time to reinvest in our public institutions to ensure that psychedelics don’t simply become another pharmaceutical option that profits private investors. Instead, we have an opportunity with psychedelics to rethink how a war on drugs has harmed individuals and communities and how we might want to build a better relationship with pharmaceuticals.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Erika Dyck, University of Saskatchewan

Read more:

The real promise of LSD, MDMA and mushrooms for medical science

Psychedelic experiences disrupt routine thinking — and so has the coronavirus pandemic

Erika Dyck receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. She is a board member of the US not-for-profit Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines.

SEE




Monday, September 13, 2021

Michigan lawmaker introduces bill decriminalizing psychedelics
Julia Forrest, Michigan Advance
September 13, 2021



Michigan Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) introduced legislation last week that would decriminalize the use of psilocybin and mescaline — two plants and fungi commonly found in psychedelics.

This article was originally published at Michigan Advance

Senate Bill 631, which was co-sponsored by state Sen. Adam Hollier (D-Detroit), would allow the possession, cultivation and delivery of the two types of psychedelics. Commercial production or sales of entheogenic plants or fungi would still be illegal, but practitioners would be able to charge fees for counseling, spiritual guidance, or a related service if the service utilizes an entheogenic plant or fungus.

In an interview with the Advance, Irwin contended psychedelics provide several benefits and prohibition is a waste of time and resources.

“These substances have medicinal value, they have religious significance and they have a very low propensity for abuse," Irwin said. “And so that's why I'm proposing to decriminalize the substance because it really makes no sense to spend any time or money arresting people and turning their lives upside down."

The trend in decriminalization efforts for psychedelics also comes after many states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana — another Schedule 1 drug. A majority of voters in Michigan passed Proposal 1 in 2018 which legalized recreational marijuana for those age 21 and older.

In Michigan, the Ann Arbor City Council passed a resolution in September 2020 decriminalizing the use of psychedelics. The city also passed a resolution designating September as Entheogenic Plants and Fungi Awareness Month. In Grand Rapids, a vote is likely to happen this year as to if the use, possession, growing or gifting of psychoactive plants and fungi should be decriminalized in the city.

Other major U.S. cities, like Denver and Washington, D.C,. have decriminalized the use of psychedelics.

There's also been movement at the state level. Oregon was the first state to legalize psilocybin therapy in 2020, In California, lawmakers are moving closer to passing a bill that would decriminalize psychedelics in the state.

However, reform at the federal level has stalled. The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives voted against a proposal 140-285 in July that aimed to amend a spending bill to expand funding for research related to the medical use of psychedelics. But a report attached to spending bills in July, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies urged the need for psychedelic research to be conducted on how those drugs can benefit veterans suffering from mental illness.

Irwin said his proposed legislation would build off of decriminalization efforts in Ann Arbor and other communities to ensure no one is criminally penalized for utilizing the drugs.

Irwin also said the bill will contribute to efforts to reverse the effects of the War on Drugs — which has disproportionately affected communities of color since the 1970s. Federal restrictions on psychedelics began in 1970 after seeing an increase in psychedelic use in the 1960s.

“There are efforts in other communities across the state to decriminalize these substances and to stop wasting any police resource [and] turning people's lives upside down over it," Irwin said. “I'm really proud to be kind of starting up this conversation at the state level of why is it that we're continuing to engage this fail in government policy of prohibition? Why are we continuing to prosecute the war on drugs in ways that don't help us and lead to mass incarceration?"

Psychedelics are currently classified as a Schedule-1 drug in the U.S., meaning the drug has “no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse."

However, recent studies have shown that psychedelics may help patients with crippling mental illnesses such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and addiction. In a study published last year, it was found that 71% of people with a major depressive disorder had a more than 50% reduction in symptoms within a month of taking psilocybin. Half of the participants even entered remission after using psilocybin for a month.

Irwin emphasized that the legislation will rid people of the ugly choice of having to choose between prioritizing their health and safety or following the law.

“Fixing that for those people and giving our institutions an opportunity to research and learn more about why these substances work for some people can be a great benefit to many people who are struggling with mental illness," Irwin said. “I think there are a number of benefits that can come out of [this] legislation."

Myc Williams, spokesperson for Decriminalize Nature Ann Arbor, spoke to the Advance about the bill's ability to decriminalize the use of psychedelics. Decriminalize Nature Ann Arbor is an organization that focuses on helping neighboring towns decriminalize psychedelics while also pushing for decriminalization at a state level.

Williams said the use of psychedelics goes beyond just having medicinal value, but can also change an individual's everyday life. He also highlighted that the use of psychedelics has been used in cultural and spiritual practices for centuries.

“People have found spiritual purpose [and] have found better practices in their daily life," Williams said. “Whether it be appreciation for the little things in life, family, and nature. And so this isn't strictly a medical thing, this isn't strictly a spiritual thing, but this is for the well-being of every individual and larger communities across the state."

Research institutions such as John Hopkins University and the University of California, Berkeley, have also recently opened centers dedicated to psychedelic research. Studies coming out of research institutions have indicated that psychedelics can be safely administered and help people with a myriad of mental health issues.

In a 2006 study at John Hopkins University, it was found that 67% of participants who received psilocybin versus a placebo “rated the experience with psilocybin to be either the single most meaningful experience of his or her life or among the top five most meaningful experiences of his or her life."

Williams went on to praise the role research has in destigmatization and decriminalization efforts, highlighting that recent studies examining the use of psychedelics have “overwhelmingly [been] in support of changing the laws around these substances."

“To deny that relationship with nature is in and of itself criminal if you ask me," Williams said. “All this [bill] really does is [protect] accessibility… because [psychedelics] are safe. Because they don't require a doctor's supervision. And when the medical model comes, [it will come], but at least we'll have protected the people of Michigan's access to these substances first."

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

Sunday, April 16, 2023

In ‘God on Psychedelics,’ Don Lattin offers a roadmap of congregational tripping

The veteran religion reporter investigates how various religious groups are using psychedelics to inspire chemically induced mystical experiences.

Author Don Lattin and his new book

(RNS) — Decades after being forced underground by the war on drugs, psychedelics are going mainstream. Researchers are rediscovering the possibilities of using psilocybin, ketamine, MDMA and LSD as tools in treating depression, addiction and psychological distress.

Oh, and they may spark a spiritual awakening, too.

In his new book, “God on Psychedelics,” Don Lattin, a veteran religion journalist, investigates how some religious groups are encouraging chemically induced revelatory experiences of human interconnectedness and unity.

Lattin, who for years covered religion for the San Francisco Chronicle and has written six other books, mostly about psychedelics, said things are changing fast. Though mostly illegal for recreational use, universities around the world are studying psychedelics in clinical studies, and some states are taking notice: Oregon last year approved the adult use of psilocybin, the hallucinogen in “magic mushrooms,” though it is still hammering out the rules for its production and sale.

Five years ago, people — and particularly clergy — didn’t want to be quoted about their experiences with psychedelics. Now they’re far more open. Lattin said tripping is being explored in congregational settings and in chaplaincy.

RNS caught up with Lattin, who lives in the Bay Area, to talk about his new book. The interview was edited for length and clarity.

Your book introduces readers to the term entheogen — drugs taken for religious or spiritual purposes. Are psychedelics really God-enabling drugs?

They can be. “Psychedelic” means “mind-manifesting,” while entheogen refers to “the divine within.” I write about rabbis, priests and other clergy who do see entheogens as a way to renew the faith. Then there are the “nones” — people of no particular faith — who are consciously using psychedelics as a spiritual practice. Some are affiliated with new religious movements, including two originating in Brazil that use ayahuasca, a tea brewed from two plants native to the Amazon. A lot of ayahuasca or magic mushrooms churches based in the U.S. are underground, but some are going public as the legal situation shifts. They see sacred plant medicines as sacraments.

Another congregation I profile is called Sacred Garden Church. It seeks divine communion with different kinds of psychedelic drugs and sees itself as a “postmodern church” that follows the “path of least dogma.”

You point out that psychedelics don’t always induce feelings of unity with all humankind. They can also be terrifying, right?

Aldous Huxley, the famous British writer who wrote “Brave New World” and “The Doors of Perception,” called them heaven and hell drugs. They can give you a taste of heaven and they can send you right to hell, too. It really depends on the intention and context.

Even people who use these substances cautiously and carefully to open up to greater spiritual awareness or psychological insight may have very difficult experiences. You can have a bad trip. You can feel like you’re dying. You can feel like you’ve lost your body. You can feel you’re going crazy. These drugs can fuel feelings of unity, awe, compassion and gratitude. They can also induce paranoia, grandiosity and existential dread. But with an experienced guide, it can be fruitful. It’s like in therapy — trauma from your past can come up. Having someone help you through those feelings in a safe, contained environment can be really helpful.

Author Don Lattin. Photo courtesy Lattin

Author Don Lattin. Photo courtesy Deanne Fitzmaurice.

It’s been eight years since scientists at New York University and Johns Hopkins University recruited clergy for a study to see if psilocybin deepened their spiritual lives. Will it ever be published?

It’s taking longer than most people thought, but researchers expect to publish a paper sometime this year. I tracked down four or five people in the study who were comfortable talking about their trips. Some people, like an Episcopal priest I write about, saw his psychedelic experience as “a second ordination” — for the first time, he felt the power of the Holy Spirit as bodily energy. Before, his faith was all in his head, too intellectual. Psilocybin inspired him to start an organization called Ligare, which is already having church retreats where other clergy can have these experiences. Currently, they can only do that in the Netherlands or a handful of other countries with less repressive drug laws.

But now Oregon and Colorado have legalized magic mushrooms and are regulating supervised psychedelic sessions. Under federal law, hallucinogens are only clearly legal in clinical trials or among churches that get a formal exemption, such as the Native American Church, or certain ayahuasca fellowships. But more than 20 cities in the U.S. have directed their police departments to stop arresting people for using certain types of drugs and plant medicines, so the legal situation is rapidly changing.

Is ‘mystical’ really the right word to describe the experience of psychedelic drugs?

Researchers have surveys they give people to measure if they had a mystical experience: Did you feel a sense of unity with the cosmos or with nature or other people? Did you feel awe and wonder? Mystical experiences are not always positive, but they’re profound, soul-shaking experiences that can crack people open. Then there’s the question as to whether psychedelics produce just altered states of consciousness, or whether they encourage altered traits of human behavior. Do they make us more aware and compassionate? I think that’s an important question, but not everyone does.

Mysticism itself can be dangerous to religious orthodoxy, no matter how it’s induced. The mystic often challenges the religious authorities of the time. That explains the hesitancy that many Christian leaders have toward mysticism, especially when it’s drug-induced. Some may also feel that it’s too much of a “short cut” to God.

What are the chances of finding a church that does psychedelics?

I bet you could, or at least a spiritual retreat center where you could experience this. Informed insiders estimate there are hundreds of these psychedelic churches. Some are very small — maybe a dozen people. Others may have 100 members. Then there are people who go down to Peru or Mexico or Brazil and work with shamans or indigenous medicine people and come back and start their own groups. Some are sincere. Others are charlatans.

There are several national networks of people lobbying now to reform drug laws. In Oakland, the city council passed a law a few years ago directing the police department to make these drugs their lowest priority. Sacred Garden Church came out of that local campaign. But this is not just happening in pockets of woke enlightenment like Berkeley, Boulder or Boston. There are big psychedelic churches in Utah, Arizona, Florida. It’s happening all over.

A lot of these new psychedelic churches keep certain Christian elements, right?

Yes. Take Santo Daime, one of the syncretic religious movements I profile in the book. It’s a mixture of folk Catholicism, spiritualism, African and Indigenous religion. You’ll see a Christian cross in their ceremonies, but also the Star of David. Many people in Santo Daime still consider themselves Christian or Catholic. What I found interesting was the large number of people in these groups in the U.S. who were raised Jewish. They probably wouldn’t call themselves “Christian,” but might say they are connecting to “Christ consciousness.”

You tried to join a couple of these psychedelic churches, but in the end, you went in a different direction. Describe the group you belong to.

"God on Psychedelics: Tripping Across the Rubble of Old-Time Religion," by Don Lattin. Courtesy Lattin

“God on Psychedelics: Tripping Across the Rubble of Old-Time Religion,” by Don Lattin. Courtesy Lattin

It’s just a meditation group that I started working with about a dozen years back. We meet at a retreat house in Oakland run by a Catholic religious order. But it’s not Catholic. It has nothing to do with psychedelics. We employ a mix of contemplative prayer and Buddhist meditation. Many of us — but not all — are also involved in 12-step recovery groups. On some days, we’ll hear a dharma talk from a teacher from the San Francisco Zen Center who is also a recovering alcoholic. On another day, we’ll employ a lectio divina reading, perhaps a passage from the gnostic Gospel of Thomas, or a Rumi poem.

This is something I was already involved with before I started experimenting with psychedelics again as part of my research for my previous book, “Changing Our Minds — Psychedelic Sacraments and the New Psychotherapy.” I joined these psychedelic fellowships as a reporter, as a participant/observer who was sincerely open to the possibility of becoming a member. In the end, I decided none of them were for me.

I don’t really see psychedelics as a lifestyle. A lot of people may have one or two experiences with psychedelics. They will call it one of the most significant experiences of their lives. But it’s not like they want to do this every weekend, or even every month. I’m in that camp. There’s a famous line by the spiritual commentator Alan Watts, “Once you get the message,” he said, “hang up the phone.”

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PSYCHEDELIC 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for LSD 

Monday, February 27, 2023

Psychedelics may help people reinvent themselves

People stopped smoking by seeing themselves as nonsmokers

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

Devenot 

IMAGE: UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER NEŞE DEVENOT STUDIES PSYCHEDELICS IN UC'S INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH IN SENSING. view more 

CREDIT: ANDREW HIGLEY

Psychedelics might help people change unwanted behaviors by helping them reinvent their perceptions of themselves.

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati examined the post-treatment journals kept by participants in a 2014 smoking cessation study that found psychedelics were effective in helping some people quit smoking for years.

In a new paper published in the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, researchers analyzed the participants’ own words and found that psychedelics combined with talk therapy often helped longtime smokers see themselves as nonsmokers. This new core identity might help explain why 80% of participants were able to stop smoking for six months and 60% remained smoking-free after five years.

The 2014 study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that participants who wanted to quit smoking and used psilocybin, the active hallucinogenic ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, combined with cognitive behavioral therapy were far more likely to succeed than those who try other traditional quit-smoking methods.

Lead author and University of Cincinnati postdoctoral researcher Neşe Devenot said the results demonstrate the potential psychedelics have to reshape self-perceptions to help people break free of old habits or addictions in the face of life’s daily triggers and temptations.

“We saw again and again that people had this feeling that they were done with smoking and that they were a nonsmoker now,” Devenot said.

She studies the science, history and culture of psychedelics in UC’s Institute for Research in Sensing.

Devenot said this new sense of self might help arm people against temptation or old triggers.

“If you want to give up meat but you smell a delicious steak, it might be hard to resist,” she said. “But if you identify as a vegetarian and your sense of who you are is someone who does not eat meat, that identity helps encourage a different choice.”

During the smoking cessation study, therapists gave participants guided imagery exercises in which they were asked to envision smoking as a behavior external to their core identity. The participants documented their experience in writing.

One guided imagery exercise from the study framed nicotine addiction as an external force, manipulating behavior for its own ends like the zombie-creating fungus in HBO’s popular series “The Last of Us.”

“Like the Cordyceps fungi that functionally transforms insects into ‘zombified’ marionettes to serve the fungi’s own reproductive purposes, smoking behavior is characterized as a form of parasitic manipulation,” the study found.

Albert Garcia-Romeu, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University, said psilocybin could serve as a catalyst to help motivate and inspire people to make a change with the help of cognitive behavioral therapy.

“Cognitive behavioral therapy asks us to tune into the thoughts and feelings that we experience in our day-to-day lives and how those relate to our behaviors,” Garcia-Romeu said. “In turn, people often tend to build a narrative or sense of self around those cognitions and behaviors.

“This sets the stage for actually having the psilocybin experience, which can both provide novel insights and perspectives as well as serve as a marker of that identity shift like a rite of passage, signifying the change for instance from smoker to nonsmoker.”

Devenot said the experiment’s sample size was relatively small at just 15 participants. But the results are encouraging.

“I feel that I am somehow fundamentally different to yesterday,” one participant wrote. “I guess I feel like some sort of metamorphosis has taken place!”

Some participants said the treatment with psilocybin made quitting feel easy compared to past experiences. Another said the cravings for nicotine used to be unbearable. But during the dosing session, the participant was unable even to imagine craving a cigarette.

“The concept seems firmly cemented into my reality even today, that cravings are not something that are real,” one said.

A photo illustration of the mind. University of Cincinnati postdoctoral researcher Neşe Devenot studies psychedelics in UC's Institute of Research in Sensing.

CREDIT

Andrew Higley and Margaret Weiner

How do psychedelics help with this transformation?

Devenot says people often get stuck in the same ruts of behavior, responding the same way to stressors or other triggers. She likens it to a downhill skier who uses the same grooved path down the mountain that they have used a thousand other times.

“It’s not that simple, but it’s a metaphor for how we talk about psychedelics,” Devenot said. 

“Psychedelics have been compared to skiing in fresh snow. Some researchers suggest that you might have more freedom to maneuver your skis anywhere down the mountain,” she said. “The entrenched grooves of bad habits might not have as much pull on our skis, so we can lay down other paths.

“We’re looking for ways to help people shift behaviors and overcome the inertia of their habits that are more in line with their goals and aspirations,” Devenot said. “That’s why psychedelics are of wider interest to researchers.”