Psychedelic Safety Takes Centre Stage in Berkeley

Last week, I (Psychedelic Alpha Editor, Josh Hardman) attended the Psychedelic Safety Summit at my alma mater (well, year-abroad-mater), UC Berkeley. It was great to be back on campus, especially alongside a fantastic group of folks from across the psychedelics field.

Chatham House-type rules limit my reporting of specifics, with attributed remarks not permitted. The organisers were planning, I believe, to release a media-friendly report following each day of the summit, but that appears to have got lost in the shuffle that organising such a packed event entails.

The Summit, supported primarily by the Educational Foundation of America with additional contribution from the William G Nash Foundation, drew a diverse crowd of 150-odd. Those participants included psychedelic industry figures, researchers of various stripes, psychedelic harm reductionists, Indigenous people, government workers, and others.

Aside from the Summit participants, also in attendance were volunteers, ‘stewards’, and facilitators—all of which would have been worthy ‘participants’ themselves.

The organisers certainly did a good job of attracting such an impressive crowd, though some attendees wondered how that process had worked (the Summit did not accept applicants).