The Psychedelic News Feed Archive

November 6 - December 10, 2023

This is an archived version of our Psychedelic News Feed. Receive a weekly digest to your inbox by joining our newsletter. ∎

December 4 - 10, 2023

OPEN ACCESS BOOK
Expanding Mindscapes: A Global History of Psychedelics

Erika Dyck and Chris Elcock’s edited volume is available via Open Access.

Ibogaine helped me beat heroin addiction, but I oppose Kentucky funding psychedelic research (Dec 7) ↗ Courier Journal

“The scale of a $42 million investment in ibogaine research raises serious concerns, especially considering that Kentucky has only spent $8 million on evidence-based practices that are proven to work.”

Ex-Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to cut plane’s engines indicted on endangerment charges (Dec 6) ↗ Associated Press

Attempted murder charges against a former pilot have been dropped. Instead, he now faces 83 reckless endangerment charges.

The off-duty pilot had consumed psilocybin mushrooms around 48 hours prior to attempting to cut the engines off during an Alaska Airlines flight.

“The attempted murder charges were never appropriate in this case because Captain Emerson never intended to hurt another person or put anyone at risk – he just wanted to return home to his wife and children,” his defense lawyers Ethan Levi, Noah Horst and Norah Van Dusen said in a statement. “Simply put: Captain Emerson thought he was in a dream.”

Ex-pilot who tried to shut off engine midflight psychedelic mushroom trip gets released from jail with orders to keep away from aircraft (Dec 8) ↗ Fortune

“The release conditions include that Emerson undergo mental health services, stay away from drugs and alcohol, and not come within 30 feet (9 meters) of an operable aircraft.”

Navigating the Psilocybin Legal and Patent Landscape ↗ Psilocybin SF

Written by Graham Pechenik and Rachel Mount.

Why Enthea Thinks Psychedelics (And Technology) Can Make Mental Healthcare More Accessible To Everyone (Dec 6) ↗ Forbes

State-Regulated Psychedelics on a Collision Course With FDA (Dec 8) ↗ JAMA

Does microdosing mushrooms work? (Dec 6) ↗ CBC News, YouTube

EVENT RECAP
reMind’s Psychedelics Business Forum

We had a great time in Las Vegas at reMind’s second Psychedelics Business Forum, which brought together a diverse crowd to discuss the present and future of the psychedelics industry.

I (Josh) really enjoyed the focus on sharing practical tips for operators and the focus on what entrepreneurs and practitioners can do right now, or in the near future. This was a nice change from my usual beat, which is often focused on things like drug development that have long timelines.

It was great to moderate a couple of panels, too. I spoke with Courtney Barnes and Sam Chapman about psychedelic policy reforms, as well as Nykol Bailey Rice and Chris Walden about ketamine clinics. Having written quite a bit about both of these topics over the past few years, it was refreshing to hear from those with intimate, first-hand experience.

Having attented many psychedelic conferences in the past few years, I appreciated reMind’s focus on making plenty of space for networking in the program. Providing this scaffolding and drop-in networking space was especially helpful for people like me who simultaenously suffer from networking FOMO and networking burnout at conferences.

Single-Dose Synthetic Psilocybin With Psychotherapy for Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Type II Major Depressive Episodes (Dec 6) ↗ JAMA

This Compass Pathways-funded study evaluated a single dose of psilocybin with psychotherapy in 15 individuals with bipolar II depression.

“…most participants met remission criteria on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale 3 weeks after a single 25-mg psilocybin dose, and most remained in remission 12 weeks postdose with no increase in mania/hypomania symptoms or suicidality.”

“The findings suggest efficacy and safety of psilocybin in bipolar II depression and support further study of psychedelics in this population.”

Delix Presents Interim Data From Phase I Trial of Novel Neuroplastogen at ACNP Annual Meeting (Dec 6) ↗ Press Release

“DLX-001 Shown to Be Safe and Well-Tolerated Without Producing Hallucinogenic, Psychomimetic, or Dissociative Effects Based on Interim Data from Phase 1 Trial”

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Awards Grant to Psilocybin-AT for PTSD Pilot Study ↗ AFSP

The $107,227 early career research grant was awarded to Amanda Tamman at Baylor College of Medicine.

The relationship between cryptomarket drug purchase, social networks and adverse drug events: A cross-sectional study (Jan 2024) ↗ IJDP

“…those reporting recent cryptomarket use were more likely to report adverse LSD events…”

VIDEOS
ALPS Conference 2023

Recordings of talks delivered at ALPS 2023 are now available on YouTube.

‘Long-lost best friends’: the longevity movement finds psychedelics (Dec 8) ↗ The Guardian

Shayla Love explores the curious intersection between the psychedelics and longevity movements, which was highlighted at this year’s Wonderland Miami conference.

MDMA Therapy for Loneliness? Researchers Say It Could Work (Dec 5) ↗ Medscape

Gilgamesh to initiate Phase IIa trial of fast-acting psychedelic drug (Dec 6) ↗ Clinical Trials Arena

Are psychedelics a treatment for long COVID? Researchers probing this mystery don’t have answers yet (Dec 7) ↗ Salon

Meet the “magic” mushroom shop salesman hoping to demolish Canada’s war on drugs (Dec 6) ↗ Salon

Could psychedelics be approved for medical treatment in the near future? (Dec 6) ↗ News 5 Cleveland

California Initiative Proposes Regulation of Psychedelics for Medicinal Use (Dec 5) ↗ Lucid News

Massachusetts Psychedelics Activists Say Local Election Clerks Certified More Than Enough Signatures For 2024 Legalization Initiative (Dec 6) ↗ Marijuana Moment

Science talk: Omaha doctor discusses use of psychedelics in medicine (Dec 4) ↗ Omaha World Herald

Julia Roberts Dishes On ‘Hardest Drug’ She Ever Tried ― And She Liked It (Dec 8) ↗ Huffington Post

She said her experience with psilocybin “was nice”.

Is your house plant psychedelic? Coloradans buy San Pedro cacti, but not for their hallucinogens. (Dec 4) ↗ Denver Post

Oregon’s legal psilocybin industry is gaining strength (Dec 4) ↗ Portland Tribune

Survey (Australia): Assessing attitudes toward psychedelics and psychedelic assisted therapy (Dec 6) ↗ Primary Health Network

House And Senate Reach Deal To Require Psychedelics Clinical Trials For Active Duty Military Service Members Under Defense Bill (Dec 7) ↗ Marijuana Moment

“Bipartisan and bicameral congressional lawmakers have reached an agreement on a large-scale defense bill that contains a House GOP-led section to fund studies into the therapeutic use of psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA for military service members.”

PTSD treatment is on the cusp of a paradigm shift. This biotech hopes to Transcend the competition (Dec 5) ↗ Fierce Biotech

November 27 - December 3, 2023

This week’s feed is sponsored by

Horizons Northwest on December 1-3 at Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon will feature three days exploring Oregon’s Psilocybin Services Act regulatory system, as well as national and global dialogues about the many dimensions of psychedelics.

Use promo code PALPHA-NW-15 for 15% off registration

Pα+ Psychedelic Bulletin #150: Drug Development and Research Updates (Nov 29) ↗ Psychedelic Alpha

This Issue of the Bulletin primarily focuses on psychedelic drug development and business stories, with around 4,000 words of coverage and analysis.

November 20 - 26, 2023

Pα+ Psychedelic Patent Analysis (October 2023) (Nov 24) ↗ Psychedelic Alpha

Our monthly Psychedelic Patent Analysis provides headline figures regarding published psychedelic patent applications and grants, before diving into commentary on a select handful of patent-related actions.

This month:

MindMed Scores Psilocybin-Antidepressant Co-Treatment Patent
A Spate of PCTs Published from GH Research
Early Fruits of Cybin’s Small Pharma Acquisition

Note: the monthly Psychedelic Patent Analysis is a Pα+ subscriber benefit (join today). Given that this is a new format, we’re making this first issue available without a paywall.

Effort to get legal psychedelics on Mass. ballot hits signature snag (Nov 16) ↗ WBUR

“A group of activists said the campaign printed a labor union logo on their ballot sheets, violating signature-gathering regulations and potentially invalidating thousands of signatures.”

Massachusetts Psychedelics Campaign To Submit 100,000 More Signatures For Legalization Ballot Initiative After Officials Discover Invalid Petition Forms (Nov 21) ↗ Marijuana Moment

“A Massachusetts campaign says it has overcome a signature collection mishap and will be submitting more than enough new petitions to force legislative consideration of a psychedelics legalization initiative before potentially putting the issue on the 2024 ballot.”

The potential of psychedelics to heal our racial traumas (Nov 23) ↗ The Conversation

Podcast: The Psychedelic Industry with Josh Hardman (Nov 23) ↗ Drug Science

“In this episode, Josh Hardman, the founder of Psychedelic Alpha, explores the multitude of challenges currently being encountered by the psychedelic industry. He engages in discussions regarding the progress of decriminalisation and legalisation initiatives, upcoming clinical trial milestones, and delves into the current state and the potential evolution of the Psychedelic industry.”

Pα+ Mini Interviews (Nov 20) ↗ Psychedelic Alpha

We published two mini interviews this week:

Ester Kincová and Steve Rolles: Regulating the Non-Medical Use of Psychedelics
Eddie Jacobs: Post-Trial Provisions in Clinical Psychedelic Research

UC Berkeley’s Psychedelic Clinical Trials Map (Nov 21) ↗ BCSP

Bringing Psychedelic Healing to Queer and Trans Communities (Nov 22) ↗ Lucid News

Johns Hopkins experts discuss the promise and pitfalls in studying the healing power of psychedelics (Nov 21) ↗ JHU Hub

The Israelis and Palestinians Doing Ayahuasca Together (Nov 22) ↗ VICE

Shane Mauss: Is the End of the Drug War Inevitable? (Nov 25) ↗ Reason

Gwyneth Paltrow backs use of psychedelics in mental health treatment (Nov 20) ↗ Yahoo

Bloomberg Psychedelics and Cannabis Newsletter, The Dose, Discontinued

“This will be the last issue of the Dose”, reads the top of Tiffany Kary’s latest issue of the newsletter that has covered the cannabis and psychedelic industries for two years.

John Lennon’s psychedelic pool mosaic heads to auction (Nov 21) ↗ EuroNews

Front of mind for Michael Pollan: psychedelics (Nov 21) ↗ The Harvard Gazette

Giving Teeth To Parity: New York Paves the Way for More Medicaid Managed Care Oversight (Nov 20) ↗ Behavioral Health Business

“The state of New York fined five Medicaid managed care plans a total of $2.6 million for denying claims or failing to pay for specialty behavioral health services.”

Here’s Governor Hochul’s announcement.

Why turning a blind eye to psychedelic drugs is the wrong approach (Nov 25) ↗ London Free Press

How Psychedelic Hype Is Hurting More People Than We Realize (Nov 25) ↗ The Daily Beast

Psychedelic research blooms in Wisconsin (Nov 20) ↗ Wisconsin Examiner

Customer Service Standards in Psychedelic Therapy: The Happy Clinic Paradigm (Nov 20) ↗ Rolling Stone

Plea for psychedelic rules reform (Nov 23) ↗ RACGP

“A new coalition of healthcare professionals wants a review of ‘overly restrictive’ [psychedelics] prescribing guidelines, but a GP expert says changes must be done ‘slowly and carefully’.”

November 13 - 19, 2023

This week’s feed is sponsored by

reMind’s 2023 Psychedelic Business Forum on November 28 + 29 in Las Vegas will bring together the entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, policymakers and healthcare professionals at the forefront of the rapidly evolving psychedelics marketplace.

Use code REMJHARDMAN20 for 20% off

WEEKLY POLL

We asked: How many psychedelics-related conferences do you expect to attend in 2024?

You answered:

None: 37%
1: 30%
2: 26%
3: 5%
More than 3: 2%

Pα+ Psychedelic Bulletin #149: Worldwide Psychedelic Policy Developments (Nov 17) ↗ Psychedelic Alpha

This Issue of the Bulletin focuses on various policy-related developments that have materialised in the past few weeks. These include inaugural hearings in the U.S. House, subcommittee meetings and forums, as well as the publication of reports and key changes to major psychedelic policy reform efforts.

In this Issue:

TREAT Retreats
Wiener Regroups: Decrim. Off the Agenda
California Psilocybin Decrim. Initiative Continues Gathering Signatures
Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health Discusses Psychedelics
Canadian Senate’s Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs: “The Time is Now” to Fund Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Research
Transform Publishes a “Practical Guide” to Regulating Psychedelics
UK Government Responds to Drugs Committee’s Report
More Policy News

Read the 5,000+ word Issue.

Colorado Natural Medicine Advisory Bulletin #5: October 2023 (Nov 13) ↗ Psychedelic Alpha X Vicente LLP

While some aspects of the Natural Medicine program, like cultivation and testing requirements, are more or less settled, the Board is still wrestling with some difficult questions.

The Board is attempting to strike a delicate balance between regulatory safety and program sustainability, a task that may turn out to be the most difficult one of all.

Read the latest via our Bulletin, written by Jeff Fitzgerald and Vicente LLP.

VA “committed” to studying psychedelics for PTSD (Nov 13) ↗ Axios

“Based on our assessment of the literature to date, there is still much to learn, and much yet to be understood, about the potential benefits of psychedelic compounds. Our department is not only focused on finding the best innovative treatments and cures but doing so safely.” – VA assistant undersecretary for health, Carolyn Clancy

Regarding MAPS’ Phase 3 program, Clancy suggested the VA’s main concerns are related to a relatively small sample size and even smaller number of veterans included.

Kitchener man arrested after police raid magic mushroom store in Cambridge (Nov 15) ↗ Global News

“Waterloo Regional Police say they raided a magic mushroom store on King Street in the Preston area of Cambridge on Tuesday.” The shop was reportedly part of the ‘FunGuyz’ chain.

Awakn Life Sciences Receives Regulatory and Ethical Approval for Phase III Clinical Trial of AWKN-P001 (Nov 15) ↗ Press Release

The Dangers of a Psychedelic Gospel (Nov 15) ↗ Christianity Today

Pα+ Library: Psychedelic REMS ↗ Psychedelic Alpha

Here, we sketch out what a psychedelic Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) might look like, which should go some way to highlighting how these programs could have an outsized impact on the post-approval delivery and accessibility of these treatments.

Are Psychedelics the Future of Eating Disorder Treatment? ↗ Smithsonian

Virtual Event, Nov 16: Johns Hopkins Congressional Briefing: What’s Next for Psychedelics? ↗ JHU Hub Recording

What the Beckley Waves Acquisition of Nue Life Means for the Psychedelics Industry (Nov 15) ↗ Lucid News

“I want us to be Patagonia, not Zara”, Beckley Waves’ Dan Love said, referring to NueCo Holdings PBC.

MDMA approval for post-traumatic stress disorder could come in 2024 (Nov 17) ↗ UPI

How to Regulate Psychedelics (Nov 14) ↗ Transform Drug Policy Foundation

Transform’s Practical Guide is now available to download. Consider ordering a hard copy to support their work.

Giving DOI to zebrafish: A look at the Duke researchers testing how psychedelics affect the brain (Nov 13) ↗ Duke Chronicle

“[A] challenge is talking to people and saying, ‘We give fish psychedelics and then look at the responses,’” Arinel said. “They ask, ‘Why? Why are you giving tiny little fish larvae psychedelics? What’s the point?’”

Veteran Psychedelic Therapy Gets Cautious Support at First House Hearing of Its Kind Since 1960s (Nov 15) ↗ Military.com

Other outlets, including MindSite News, covered the hearing. Our Pα+ Policy Bulletin (149) offers our analysis.

Cybin Announces Closing of Offering of Units Led by One of the Company’s Largest Institutional Shareholders (Nov 14) ↗ Press Release

Grandmother and her family try mushroom tea in hopes of psychedelic-assisted healing (Nov 15) ↗ CBS

Magic mushrooms and the mind (Nov 15) ↗ The Week

“A growing number of states and cities are legalizing the use of psychedelic fungi in therapy. Some experts think that’s a big risk.”

For some, the drug ketamine can be a lifesaver. But recent shortages have made it hard to get (Nov 15) ↗ Salon

Compass Pathways initiates UK component of global phase 3 study of psilocybin treatment in treatment-resistant depression and launches new research center (Nov 15) ↗ Press Release

King’s College London also shared news of the centre’s opening.

Ketamine effectively treats depression. Do the benefits outweigh the risks? (Nov 16) ↗ National Geographic

Collaborative Initiative Brings Psychedelics Research to the Humanities at Berkeley (Nov 15) ↗ UC Berkeley

Psychosis and psychedelics (Nov 17) ↗ Aeon

Rats are getting smashed on LSD and ketamine ‘for science’ (Nov 16) ↗ Metro

atai Life Sciences Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Pipeline Highlights (Nov 14) ↗ Press Release

“With a strong cash balance of $209M, we are well positioned to continue advancing our clinical programs towards key data milestones”, said CEO Florian Brand.

Inaugural Psychedelic Cup fuels curiosity over magic mushrooms (Nov 14) ↗ Axios Denver

“Nearly 200 growers submitted 511 mushrooms for sampling at the competition earlier this month at Mile High Station in Denver — far above organizer Jonathan Cherkoss’ expectations.”

Mental health advocates fight to legalize psychedelic drugs (Nov 14) ↗ Spectrum News

University of Melbourne unveils six start ups, announces $4.5M investment in company developing psychedelic-assisted therapies (Nov 13) ↗ UMelbourne Newsroom

“Psychae Therapeutics, which will receive the $4.5 million syndicated investment, is exploring the development of medical-grade, botanically derived treatments and psychedelic-assisted therapies to treat serious mental health challenges such as PTSD, anxiety and addiction.”

In crowded field of psychedelic startups, Filament CEO makes case for ‘natural’ drugs (Nov 13) ↗ Quartz

“More drugmakers are seeking to harness the medical potential of psychedelics for treating depression, addiction and other hard-to-treat conditions”

Michael Pollan Talks Future of Psychedelics Research at Harvard Mahindra Humanities Center (Nov 17) ↗ The Harvard Crimson

Quebec Therapists Conduct First Legal Psilocybin Group Therapy Session (Nov 13) ↗ Forbes

November 6 - 12, 2023

WEEKLY POLL RESULTS

We Asked: In 2033, this molecule will have approvals for the most indications in the U.S.:

You answered:

MDMA (48%)
Psilocybin (44%)
LSD (4%)
DMT (0%)
Other (4%

INTRODUCING Pα+
Your one-stop susbcription for psychedelic news, analysis and interviews. Learn more and join.

Pα+: A Nue Lease of Life? Beckley Waves Acquires Struggling At-Home Ketamine Provider Nue Life Health (Nov 10) ↗ Psychedelic Alpha

MEP Action Group Meets in Brussels to Discuss Regulatory Pathways for Psychedelics (Nov 8) ↗ Psychedelic Alpha

Pα+ subscribers can access an enhanced version of this article.

Cybin Announces up to US$64 Million Offering of Units (Nov 10) ↗ Press Release

The company announces “a firm commitment underwritten offering” of around 67 million units at a price $0.45 per unit for gross proceeds of $30m. Up to an additional $34m could be raised if warrants (priced at $0.51) are exercised.

The New Plan For Psychedelic Drug Decriminalization In California (Nov 11) ↗ California Globe

“Senator Wiener to work with Republicans on a limited therapy-only focused bill”

MEPs call for EU to support research into the use of psychedelic drugs in treating mental health disorders (Nov 9) ↗ Science Business

False or Misleading Claims in Online Direct-to-Consumer Ketamine Advertising in Maryland (Nov 7) ↗ JAMA

Billionaire treats PTSD with illegal psychedelics (Nov 10) ↗ FOX 10 Pheonix

Psychedelics Will Help America’s Mental Health Crisis — If the FDA Lets Them (Nov 9) ↗ American Institute for Economic Research

The AIER, a ‘conservative and libertarian free-market think tank’ published a short article on psychedelics for mental health illness.

The bent of the article is that “it’s time for the FDA to decide” whether to ‘generate an approval process for psychedelics.” But this seems to hinge on a misunderstanding of FDA’s draft guidance on clinical investigations involving psychedelics which does not seek to establish a separate approval pathway for psychedelics.

Opinion: The Case for Ibogaine: Kentucky’s Opportunity to Lead in the Fight Against Opioid Addiction (Nov 8) ↗ Newsweek

by Rick Perry.

Pα: Might the fall-out from yesterday’s elections change the odds of success for this effort? If the changing of the guard reaches the ranks of the KYOAAC, such as Bryan Hubbard, the ambitious $42m appropriation could be dead in the water. ∎

A Harvard-affiliated hospital is testing magic mushrooms on dying patients (Nov 10) ↗ STAT

California lawmakers learn from Colorado as they tinker with vetoed psychedelics bill (Nov 8) ↗ Courthouse News Service

The Search for New Psychedelics (Nov 6) ↗ Scientific American

Therapeutic Use of Psychedelics in Treating PTSD and Depression Among Veterans (Nov 8) ↗ RAND Blog

The Time is Now: Granting equitable access to psychedelic-assisted therapies (Nov 8) ↗ Senate of Canada

“…the Subcommittee is recommending the immediate implementation of a robust research program funded by VAC and the Department of National Defence (DND) in partnership with Health Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and all other relevant partners.”

Why We Need to Regulate Psychedelics (Nov 10) ↗ Transform

“This is an edited extract from Transform’s How to Regulate Psychedelics: A Practical Guide – by Steve Rolles and Ester Kincová – now available to buy in print. This will be published on Nov 14th! Register for the launch webinar here.”

What If Psychedelics’ Hallucinations Are Just a Side Effect? (Nov 8) ↗ The Atlantic

Funding for Research on Psychedelics Is on the Rise, Along with Scientists’ Hopes for Using Them (Nov 10) ↗ Scientific American

‘Is This Hell?’ The Pilot Accused of Trying to Crash a Plane Tells His Story. (Nov 10) ↗ NYT

Exploring psychedelics: Understanding variability in treatment responses (Nov 11) ↗ Eureka Alert

Low-dose psilocybin sex-dependently enhances fear extinction in adult rats – Abstract PSTR162.03
Differential modulation of threat assessment by psilocybin and DMT – Abstract PSTR162.02
The effect of the psychedelic psilocybin on nicotine dependence behaviors in preclinical models – Abstract PSTR105.08

Ukraine: Ecstasy and mushrooms to fight war trauma (Nov 6) ↗ DW

San Diego clinical trial tests psychedelics to treat PTSD (Nov 6) ↗ Axios

Minnesota’s New Psychedelics Task Force Holds Its First Meeting As Lawmakers Plan Reform Legislation (Nov 6) ↗ Marijuana Moment

Psychedelics can have enormous benefits, but the risks shouldn’t be ignored (Nov 10) ↗ Vox

Do You Need to ‘Trip’ for Psychedelics to Work as Medicine? (Nov 8) ↗ Scientific American

The benefits of medical psychedelics: ‘For many people, one supervised trip resets everything’ (Nov 8) ↗ Irish Independent

Psychedelics Are Cheap. Psychedelic Treatment Is Not. (Nov 7) ↗ Petrie Flom’s ‘Bill of Health’

Psychedelics may soon be available — sort of — to treat vets with PTSD (Nov 8) ↗ Military Times

Introducing psychedelics to end-of-life mental healthcare (Nov 8) ↗ Nature Mental Health

Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Dispensary Isn’t Trying to Hide (Nov 9) ↗ Westworld

Want to Change Minds About Psychedelics? Start with PTSD (Nov 8) ↗ Petrie Flom’s ‘Bill of Health’

‘The Top Line’: A look at psychedelics and the next frontier of mental healthcare (Nov 10) ↗ Fierce Biotech

The Psychedelic News Feed Archive

November 6 - December 10, 2023

December 4 - 10, 2023

November 27 - December 3, 2023

November 20 - 26, 2023

November 13 - 19, 2023

November 6 - 12, 2023

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