Monthly Archives: February 2022

Recently, psychedelic drugs have once again taken popular culture by storm. From the psychedelic startup companies newly forming on Wall Street to a recent New York Timesarticle that claims "psychedelic drugs are closer to medicinal use," it seems that there is a renewed media and medical interest in acid (LSD), mushrooms (psilocybin), ecstasy (MDMA), ayahuasca, DMT (dimethyltryptamine), and ketamine.

As an authors disclaimer, my own life has long intersected with psychedelic drugs. In 1979 (at age 14), I remember reading my father Lester Grinspoons book Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered, which urged, with his usual prescience, an open-minded reappraisal about the therapeutic potential of this class of drugs.

According to Michael Pollan, "for most of the 1950s and early 1960s, many in the psychiatric establishment regarded LSD and psilocybin as wonder drugs" for treating depression, anxiety, trauma, and addiction, among other ailments. As these drugs came to be associated with the 1960s counterculture, and as stories began to surface about bad trips and psychotic breaks, "the exuberance surrounding these new drugs gave way to moral panic." Now the pendulum is swinging back, and the interest in their usefulness as a tool to help treat a variety of psychiatric conditions is rapidly growing.

Psychedelic drugs are a loosely grouped class of drugs that are able to induce altered thoughts and sensory perceptions. At high doses some of them, such as LSD, can cause visual hallucinations. Many people have heard of "magic mushrooms" which contain the active ingredient psilocybin. Psilocybin can also alter perceptions and cause hallucinations at high doses. Other drugs, such as ecstasy, primarily affect ones mood and sensation of closeness with others. Still others, such as ketamine, have traditionally been used as anesthetics, but also act as hallucinogens and can cause dreamlike states. Ayahuasca, which is found in the jungles of South America, has been used by traditional cultures for centuries. While these drugs and medicines are loosely described under a general rubric, there are big differences between them.

According to Dr. Jerrold Rosenbaum, the director of the newly created Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics at Massachusetts General Hospital and former psychiatrist-in-chief at MGH, the short answer is, "Psychedelics induce the brain to change transiently in ways that appear to allow a reset to take place and permit alterations in previously 'stuck' ways of feeling and thinking about things." There are likely several ways in which psychedelics can accomplish this: new connections are briefly made in neural networks while the resting state of the brain (or the "default mode network") loses connectivity then it restores itself. "Its like rebooting your computer." This is how stuck patterns of thinking are thought to shift. Also, new connections between neurons are formed, a process that is called neuroplasticity. Finally, the psychedelic drugs themselves can put patients into a transient state where they can better process memories, feelings, and past trauma, and can "reemerge with a new perspective on them that is freeing and healing" also called psychedelic-assisted therapy.

To the extent that research has been allowed on drugs and medicines that arent yet legal, the answer is an increasing and resounding yes. A 2021 study in JAMA Psychiatry concluded that "This randomized clinical trial found that psilocybin-assisted therapy was efficacious in producing large, rapid, and sustained antidepressant effects in patients with major depressive disorder." Another 2021 study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that patients with moderate to severe major depressive disorder who received two doses of psilocybin did just as well if not better at six weeks than patients who received daily dosages of escitalopram (an antidepressant medication). A 2021 study from Nature, which was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (the gold standard for research), showed that "MDMA-assisted therapy is highly efficacious in individuals with severe PTSD, and treatment is safe and well-tolerated."

There have been many studies of ketamine as a treatment for depression that does not respond to other treatments. And it has been approved as an option for selected patients with treatment-resistant depression.

There is also great interest in the use of psychedelic medicines in hospice/end of life care. These medications can help people overcome their fear of death, and can help make the process of dying a more meaningful and spiritual experience.

Some of these drugs, such as MDMA, are considered to be potential drugs of misuse, given the euphoria they can cause. Possible adverse effects of some psychedelics could include dizziness, drowsiness, extreme dissociation from reality, panic attacks, and nausea. Their illegality makes them more dangerous, and people using street drugs can suffer medical complications from taking contaminated drugs.

Despite their burgeoning promise in the field of psychiatry, psychedelic drugs are not yet considered to be mainstream medicine, and their use is still largely condoned only in experimental or monitored settings. These substances can cause severe impairment and should not be used without a guide who is not under the influence, who can provide calming support and/or call for help if someone is having a bad trip or an adverse reaction.

On the plus side, for the conditions described above, they present a novel and incredibly promising treatment avenue for some of the most difficult-to-treat psychiatric conditions, such as PTSD or treatment-resistant depression. With proper supervision, they are relatively safe. Some patients say the experience of psychedelics can truly be life-altering. This is thought to be in part because the use of psychedelics frequently helps people to experience what is best described as mystical experiences, and that these experiences have been associated with improved outcomes.

As my father said in a 1986 paper, referring to psychedelic drugs, "The problem is not so much how to get these drugs off the streets, but how to get them back in the laboratories, hospitals, and other supervised settings." Just because a drug can be enjoyed or misused, or has been associated with a counterculture or a particular set of political values, that shouldnt mean that it ought to be locked away forever especially when there is promising evidence of potential benefit for some of the cruelest conditions that affect humanity.

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Back to the future: Psychedelic drugs in ... - Harvard Health

Proponents of the legalization of psychedelics has won a victory. Seattles City Council approved a resolution Monday to decriminalize a wide range of activities around psychedelic drugs, including the cultivation and sharing of psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, ibogaine and non-peyote-derived mescaline. The landmark measure extends what is already Seattle city policy not to arrest or prosecute people for personal drug possession to further protect the cultivation and sharing of psychedelic plants and fungi for religious, spiritual, healing, or personal growth practices.

State Sen. Jesse Salomon, D-Shoreline, says to change that in Washington, not just decriminalizes the drug but makes the active ingredient in the mushrooms available for therapeutic and creative purposes.

Enacted, the Psilocybin Wellness and Opportunity Act would allow individuals to consume products containing psilocybin and psilocin, the two main active ingredients in psychedelic mushrooms, under the support of a trained and state-licensed psilocybin service administrator. Mason Marks, a senior fellow and project lead on the Project at Psychedelics Law and Regulation at Harvard Law School who helped to draft some sections of the bill, told Marijuana Moment that it builds on the momentum of previous psilocybin policy reform efforts in Seattle and across the country. Voters in neighboring Oregon passed an initiative in 2020.

Under supported adult use, psilocybin services are made available to people 21 and older for nearly any purpose, Mason Marks, a senior fellow and project lead on the Project at Psychedelics Law and Regulation at Harvard Law School, who helped author the bill. Psilocybe azurescens and Psilocybe cyanescens are two psychedelic varieties that grow in damp, wooded areas in Washington and Oregon and produce visual hallucinations when ingested. These mushrooms while freely growing and with a centurieslong record of use among Indigenous people are also Schedule I controlled substances: illegal drugs up there with heroin and marijuana, according to the federal government.

Jesse Salomon, This is a practice as old as humanity itself and it is time to incorporate this opportunity to heal into our toolbox here in Washington state, he said. We should not deny ourselves the benefits of these services when there is so much suffering in our communities.

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Seattle Legalizes Psychedelics - The Seattle Medium

How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence

First edition cover

Publication date

How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence is a 2018 book by Michael Pollan. It became a No. 1 New York Times best-seller.[3]

How to Change Your Mind chronicles the long and storied history of psychedelic drugs, from their turbulent 1960s heyday to the resulting countermovement and backlash. Through his coverage of the recent resurgence in this field of research, as well as his own personal use of psychedelics via a "mental travelogue", Pollan seeks to illuminate not only the mechanics of the drugs themselves, but also the inner workings of the human mind and consciousness.

The book received many positive reviews, and a documentary is expected in 2022.

The book is organized into six chapters with an epilogue:

Pollan has been interviewed concerning the book on popular podcasts such as The Tim Ferriss Show,[4] The Kevin Rose Show[5] and The Joe Rogan Experience.

How to Change Your Mind received many positive reviews.

The New York Times Book Review named How to Change Your Mind one of the best books of 2018.[6][7]

Kevin Canfield of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "In 'How to Change Your Mind', Pollan explores the circuitous history of these often-misunderstood substances, and reports on the clinical trials that suggest psychedelics can help with depression, addiction and the angst that accompanies terminal illnesses. He does so in the breezy prose that has turned his previous books these include The Omnivore's Dilemma and Cooked, the inspiration for his winning Netflix documentaries of the same name into bestsellers."[8]

Jacob Sullum of the libertarian magazine Reason gave the book a generally positive review, but faulted Pollan for criticizing Timothy Leary's self-promotion without allocating blame to the politicians and journalists who shut down the promising scientific study of psychedelics.[9]

Writing in New York magazine, conservative journalist Andrew Sullivan praised How to Change Your Mind as "astounding."[10]

How to Change Your Mind received two positive reviews from Vox. Ezra Klein described it as "one of the most mind-expanding books I have read this year."[11] Sean Illing said that Pollan "describe[s] what it's like to take psychedelics. But beyond that, he also walks the reader through the history of these drugs and surveys the latest research into their therapeutic potential. It's a sprawling book that is likely to change how you think not just about psychedelic drugs but also about the human mind."[12]

Mark Rozzo reviewed How to Change Your Mind in Columbia magazine. He writes that the book "offers a convincingly grown-up case for the potential of drugs that, having survived decades of vilification, now seem poised to revolutionize several fields, from mental health to neuroscience."[13]

Oliver Burkeman wrote of the book in The Guardian: "How to Change Your Mind is Pollans sweeping and often thrilling chronicle of the history of psychedelics, their brief modern ascendancy and suppression, their renaissance and possible future, all interwoven with a self-deprecating travelogue of his own cautious but ultimately transformative adventures as a middle-aged psychedelic novice."[14]

Drew Gwilliams wrote a review of the book for the scientific journal Chemistry World. He called it "a fascinating history of psychedelic drugs" and said "Pollan approaches the topic with a combination of intelligent curiosity and skepticism, deftly avoiding controversial debates while seeking clarity and comprehension."[15]

In 2021, Pollan began working on a four-part documentary film adaptation of the book for Netflix. It will be released in late 2021 or early 2022.[16]

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How to Change Your Mind - Wikipedia

A massive multinational drug specialist is making waves in the psychedelic drug industry, writing checks to finance the development of new psychedelic drugs. Though the stock markets decline has somewhat overshadowed this story, it is worth noting. This breakthrough drug develop partnership has significant commercial potential for the company as well as the industry as a whole.

The company in question is Mindset Pharma. Psychedelics investors are wise to take note of this company as it is publicly owned. Shares of Mindset Pharma are traded under the symbols of MSET on the CAN and MSSTF in the United States.

Mindset Pharma has announced a new drug development partnership. The company will ally with McQuades Center for Strategic Research and Development. The partnership is considered prospective at the current moment. Mindset will receive a payment of $5 million upfront. Expenses will be paid to take two of the companys novel molecule families through the initial phase of the clinical trial process.

The announcement is important as Phase I symbolizes a significant accomplishment for Mindset. The novel molecule developers molecules will be tested for both tolerance and safety yet those products will soon be available to pharmaceutical businesses that will develop the drugs through continued research and development.

Reaching the drug development finish line without shareholder dilution is of the utmost importance for the company as well as its public owners. Mindset retains the right of first refusal to partner on results stemming from the pipeline.

The expenses referred to above have the potential to surpass the $30 million CAD mark. This level of funding is a massive financial contribution to a business that as of the current moment has a market cap below $60 million CAD. In plain terms, this deal provides a windfall of cash that will help Mindset capture additional market share.

Those who delve deeper into Mindsets research and development partner in the drug development effort will find the alliance is likely to prove quite meaningful for the entire industry. The McQuade Center for Strategic Research and Development (MSRD) is a key component of the worldwide Otsuka group of pharmaceutical companies.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical is a big pharma business based in Japan. Otsuka recorded revenues in excess of $12 billion across the first two quarters of 21,. In other words, McQuade is financed by a massive drug development specialist with a considerable amount of cash to spend.

Indeed, Otsuka might qualify as a legitimate industry sugar daddy in the psychedelics space. If everything goes as planned, Otsukas financing will propel the likes of Mindset to new heights. Otsukas deep cash reserves have the potential to transform the investment of millions of dollars into billions across posterity. It is particularly important to point out the fact that the mental health industry has not progressed as most assumed. The industry has stalled yet psychedelics provide intriguing promise. If Otsukas brass is right, psychedelics are the future of mental health.

In excess of $300 billion is spent on mental health every single year in the United States. The majority of this money is wasted. However, the market cap of the psychedelic drug industry is less than $3 billion. There is clear upside to this growing industry, especially with the impending infusion of cash provided by the likes of Otsuka.

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The Psychedelic Drug Industry Appears To Have A New Sugar Daddy - The Dales Report

Denise Vidot, a University of Miami epidemiologist who has studied the impact of cannabis on well-being for a decade, has broadened her laboratorys research to include psilocybin, aiming to explain a surge in use of both substances during the pandemic.

Denise Vidot, who began researching the impact of cannabis on health and well-being long before the stigma against its medicinal use had diminished, has earned a new designation for her lab that incorporates the study of psychedelics, which she defines as psilocybin, ketamine (a legalized synthetic variation), and ayahuasca (a plant-based psychedelic).

The overarching focus of the psychedelic branch of her International Cannabis and Psychedelic Research Lab is to assess how psilocybin is independently affecting mental health amid the pandemic and how psilocybin in conjunction with cannabis affects mental health symptoms and cardiovascular disease risk, said Vidot, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing and Health Studies.

What were trying to do is study mental health and cardiovascular health through the use of plants and fungi psychedelics, she explained, noting that most existing studies on these substances focus solely on psychological health, including depression, anxiety, and trauma.

Our approach uniquely seeks to add understanding of the impact on the brain, heart, and gutthe three are interconnected, she said. When the brain is stressed, the heart rate increases and hormones are secreted into the microbiome (gut/stomach), which prompts negative implications for health, Vidot noted. The consequences for the heart and gut are much less known.

The idea for her new research focus sparked on March 11, 2020the day the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. She started working nonstop to design the COVID-19 Cannabis Health Study, as it was unclear if the cannabis dispensaries were going to stay open to serve medical cannabis consumers.

Luckily, a few months later, the dispensaries were designated an essential business, she said, noting the irony of the transformation. How did cannabis go from being an illegal substance with a stigma to an essential business that stayed open during the pandemic?

To that study, for the first time, she added questions about the co-use of cannabis with other substances, one of which was psilocybin. I didnt realize that Id be stumbling on such important findings, she said.

While she was pleased with the initial batch of 17 survey responses, she sought to broaden its outreach and turned to her many contacts within the field. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws proved especially helpful.

Collaborator support in circulating the survey garnered 3,000 respondents from around the globe.

It was such a shock, but it shows the importance of the question to the general public: What can cannabis and psilocybin actually do? she said.

Vidot noted that the responses were self-reportedvoluntary and anonymous and therefore less prone to biasand that respondents received no compensation, contrary to what many suggest about surveys relating to substance use, she said. Respondents were motivated to know the true benefits or possible harmful effects of the substances.

The findings showed that a significant number of patients eligible for medicinal cannabis started or increased use of psilocybin during the pandemic and that a portion who were co-using with cannabis also increased their use without physician oversight.

While the results are preliminary, Vidot believes those using the substances are seeking to manage pain and to cope with mental health symptoms. Early data indicates that those consuming psilocybin exhibited lower evidence of severe depression and anxiety compared with the other groupsa finding that has prompted Vidot and her research team to dig deeper.

Her lab is conducting five ongoing studies of psychedelics. Two are related to the pandemic scenario and the co-use of cannabis and psilocybin; a third explores the health effects of psilocybin used together with poly-substancesalcohol, tobacco, and cocaine, among others; and the other two examine the use of ketamine, the synthetic version of psychedelics.

Vidot noted that psilocybin remains illegal, and that ketamine [legalized] is therefore easier to study.

Her current lab includes student researchers, ranging from first-semester undergraduates to postdoctoral fellows.

Cannabis, psychedelics, and other types of alternative medicine approaches are the future, Vidot said. Being able to train this next generation of scientists or health care professionals, even if they dont move into this field, is vital. Just the awareness of replacing the stigma with knowledge is extremely important.

Vidot said she aims to be the mentor that I wish that I had as an undergraduate on my first day, and is grateful for the opportunity to advance a research field that is gaining traction, especially during the pandemic.

A lot of media outlets have started highlighting psilocybin as a mental health treatment option, and the stigma of the two substances [cannabis and psychedelics] has lessened, thus prompting more people to respond to a survey like ours, she said. I think my lab had the right timing.

At the Miller School of Medicine, Dr. Michael E. Hoffer, professor of otolaryngology and neurological surgery, has been studying mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) for the past 15 plus years. Last year, his laboratorywas funded to study if the useof a pill form of cannabidiol (CBD) in combination with microdoses of psilocybin would effectively treat and possibly prevent symptoms of conditions relating to concussions and other similar mTBI injuries.

Hoffers research has documented that60 to 70 percent of those with concussive type injuries generally suffer no lingering effects beyond 7 to 10 days, yet 30 to 40 percent suffer side effects that may persist for weeks or months, or even longer.

Absent a crystal ball to know which are the 30 to 40 percent, weve been researching something to treat everyone that is innocuous for the 60 to 70 percent, but effective for the 30 to 40 percent, Hoffer explained.

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Increased psychedelic use during pandemic prompts new research - University of Miami