Category Archives: Psychedelics

NEW YORK, Feb. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PsychedelicNewsWire -- IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork), a multifaceted financial news and publishing company, today announces that it will be supporting the full event line-up organized by Microdose Psychedelic Insights in 2022.

Microdose Psychedelic Insights, a Toronto-based media company, is a well-established leader within the psychedelic industry. The company has sought to provide ground-breaking educational insight to help drive the industry into the forefront of modern medicine through its distribution of compelling sector content, financial analysis and engaging events. Having worked with some of the most respected companies, both inside and outside psychedelics, Microdose has rapidly become the media partner of choice within the sector.

Following its previous successful engagements with Microdoses conferences throughout 2021, IBN will be serving as the official media sponsor for their upcoming 2022 conference schedule. These will include the iterations of Microdoses popular Psychedelic Capital series, the Molecular Masterclasses (such as the upcoming LSD Conference to be held on Feb. 17, 2022) and the well-known Wonderland Miami, which is set to take place in November.

We are pleased to be continuing our collaboration with IBN for all of our events this year, said Patrick Moher, president of Microdose. Their powerful tools and communication solutions create a robust online presence, which strengthens the valuable connections our team creates between executives, industry experts and investors. We are looking forward to producing a standout series of events designed to drive the psychedelics industry into the forefront of modern medicine, and we believe that IBNs assistance in helping us reach a broader investor audience will continue to be very helpful in heightening the success of our events.

In addition to the news-oriented coverage provided by IBNs PsychedelicNewsWire and BioMedWire, which form part of IBNs platform 50+ brands, IBN is also set to provide Microdose Psychedelic Insights with social media coverage for their various events. Collectively, the IBN brands reach more than 2 million likes and followers across a variety of social networks.

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Our team at IBN is excited to be working with Microdose Psychedelic Insights again this year, said Jonathan Keim, communications director for IBN. We will leverage our communications solutions to raise visibility in advance of each of their events and also widen the reach of the content produced to reach additional online audiences.

About IBN

The IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork) consists of financial brands introduced to the investment public over the course of 15+ years. With IBN, we have amassed a collective audience of millions of social media followers. These distinctive investor brands aim to fulfill the unique needs of a growing base of client partners. IBN will continue to expand our branded network of highly influential properties, leveraging the knowledge and energy of specialized teams of experts to serve our increasingly diversified list of clients.

Through NetworkNewsWire (NNW) and its affiliate brands, IBN provides: (1) access to a network of wire solutions via InvestorWire to reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most effective manner possible; (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets; (3) enhanced press release solutions to ensure maximum impact; (4) full-scale distribution to a growing social media audience; (5) a full array of corporate communications solutions; and (6) a total news coverage solution.

For more information on IBN, visit https://www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the InvestorBrandNetwork website applicable to all content provided by IBN, wherever published or re-published: https://IBN.fm/Disclaimer

Corporate Communications IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork) Los Angeles, California http://www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com 310.299.1717 Office Editor@InvestorBrandNetwork.com

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IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork) Expands Collaboration With Microdose Psychedelic Insights to Serve as Official Media Sponsor for all 2022 Events - Yahoo...

Journey Colab is focused on unlocking the science of psychedelics to build a whole new model of addiction care combining the potential of neuroplasticity promoting therapeutics like mescaline with psychotherapy and community support. Their lead program is mescaline one of the naturally-occurring classical psychedelics for the treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) for patients in desperate need of durable remission. Their focus this year is building on the first modern natural data set on mescaline and are currently conducting the first industry-sponsored human trials.

Further, their Journey Reciprocity Trust is setting the industry standard for the healing economy. The Trust holds ten percent of the companys founding equity for the future benefit of groups working to ensure equitable access to mental health treatment, those working on the conservation of naturally occurring psychedelics, and Indigenous communities that have traditionally used psychedelics.

Founder and CEO, Jeeshan Chowdhury: Mescaline is very interesting in that its the only phenethylamine in the classic psychedelic. Its closer to MDMA than psilocybin, which is a tryptamine. When we look at both the traditional use of mescaline, what were seeing now with the rigorous scientific understanding of the mechanism of action, and the clinical studies, these long-acting psychedelics offer a unique advantage.

We know that traditional communities in traditional settings have used mescaline-containing plants for hundreds of years to deal with addiction. In communities that have been disproportionately affected by addiction in response to individual and systemic trauma, the use of mescaline-containing plants combined with therapy and community support shows to be one of the only effective treatments for alcohol use in their communities.

When people think about relearning periods, you can think about when a child is able to learn a language very easily, versus us trying to learn as adults. We know psychedelics can open critical windows of learning. Its very clear now from scientific evidence that longer-acting psychedelics, like mescaline, open this period for not hours like ketamine, but weeks. Were seeing a longer period of neuroplasticity, which lends itself to a chronic condition like Alcohol-Use Disorder where were trying to achieve behaviour change. When psychedelic medicine is combined with therapy and community support, we see the strongest effects.

I would be negligent in trying to create any product or service and not include or learn from the only people who have done this at-scale, who have done it safely and effectively. Its a business decision for us to create a space of dialogue with those communities to learn from each other. Its not a charity, its not window-dressing. It makes us a better company and helps us make better decisions. We were able to learn the potential around mescaline because we setup Journey as a stakeholder model, created a space of dialogue, and understood the unique potential of mescaline that everyone else had overlooked.

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Journey Colab Believes It Has The Formula For Addiction Treatment - The Dales Report

Once counterculture staples, LSD and magic mushrooms are starting to trip out another world: psychiatry. A smallbut rapidly growinggroup of doctors is embracing the drugs as powerful tools against a myriad of mental demons. People suffering from depression, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have all benefited from psychedelics in small controlled trials. Psychedelics, over 50 years after the Summer of Love, have once again taken flight.

With one caveat: they get people high. While a perk for recreational users, the mind-altering effects can be a serious detriment to patients. For now, treatments are carefully administered and monitored inside clinics rather than patients taking pills at home. Regulatory hurdles further prohibit widespread adoption.

But what if theres a way to strip away the high and leave only the drugs therapeutic effects?

Enter crystals. This week, a team extracted and crystallized the structure of psychoactive drugs docking in the brain. Using X-rays, they mapped out the interactions at the nanoscale level, teasing apart those that can lead to hallucinations from those that can calm troubled minds. Knowledge in hand, they engineered several synthetic cousins of LSD, which helped quell depressive symptoms in mice without signs of the critters getting high.

While it could be a long road from mice to men, the study is one in a series of high-profile works that seek to strip the hallucinogenic magic from psychedelics, instead adding a sprinkle of healing magic. For now, they wont be silver bulletsthe mice needed a hefty dose to dampen their depression, which is a red flag for potential side effects.

But the implications are profound. If validated in humans, the drugs would lay the groundwork for an entirely new treatment regime for mental troubles that haunt millions of people.

This work is going to generate a lot of interest, Dr. Bryan Roth at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, an expert in the field who was not involved in the study, said to Science.

Psychedelics were all the rave in the 50s and 60s, and not just in the party scene, but also in psychiatry. At the time, treating patients with LSD, psilocybin (the active component in magic mushrooms), or MDMA (also known as molly or ecstasy) was considered a promising alternative to other therapies for restoring health and autonomy for people confined long-term in asylums. Over the decade, scientists tested roughly 40,000 people in over 1,000 studies for treatment of mental health and addiction issues.

Despite initially promising (though rudimentary) results, the studies lurched to a halt when psychedelics were banned as a backlash to widespread recreational use.

Yet neuroscientists never stopped examining their potential, even at the risk of their careers. A breakthrough came in the 2010s, when several studies showed that ketamine, a horse tranquilizer and party drug, had jaw-dropping effects for depression. Unlike other antidepressants, which often take months to workif they work at allketamine triggered beneficial effects in some people with just one dose, and within hours.

Initially met with skepticism and considered too good to be true, rigorous studies further showed that in mice, ketamine boosted the birth of new neurons in the brain while tweaking neural networks to be more adaptable. In 2019, a form of ketamine was approved by the FDA as the first truly new antidepressant in decades, hailed as a game changer for depression and a turning point for the return of psychedelics as a potential therapeutic force. It also immediately raised the question: can we make a non-hallucinogenic alternative?

As ketamine began its rebound into psychiatric prominence, other drugsincluding LSD, psilocybin, and MDMAalso started their arduous journeys of reentering medical respectability. Between 2010 and 2020 clinical trials tripled, with several showing dramatic effects. One trial found that seven out of ten people who took psilocybin reduced their symptoms by half. Other clinical trials, mostly conducted in the UK and Canada, are entering late stage.

To overcome regulatory hurdles, however, structural biologists have taken a different route: altering the structure of these chemicals, in turn stripping away their ability to trigger an unwanted trip.

It starts with visualizing where the chemicals impact the brain. The crux is a receptor called 5-HT2AR. The receptor isnt evolved to get us high; rather, its a critical protein dock for serotonina brain chemical or neurotransmitterthats involved in many of our base functions. Mood is one of them, which is why most common antidepressants today target these receptors.

Like the Los Angeles port, 5-HT2AR has multiple docking sites for chemicals, each triggering a different supply chain route. Depending on the docking station, the same cargothe drugchanges how the neuron reacts by recruiting other molecular providers. Depending on those providers, the drug tweaks the neural circuit in diverse ways, altering the brains response to the drug.

In the new study the team hunted down the provider proteins that trigger antidepressant effects. They first doused multiple mouse brains with different drugs, including LSD, magic mushrooms, serotonin, and a non-hallucinogenic therapy for Parkinsons disease. They then crystallized the 5-HT2AR dock and examined how the chemicals interacted with it at the atomic scale with X-ray beams.

Surprisingly, many psychedelics turned out to be shape-shifters. Rather than docking at one spot, they were able to contort and bind to another nearby cavity. Turning to mice, they teased apart how the different docks worked. One dock, for example, led the mice to twitch their heads, a sign of getting high. Another, when tested for depression, alleviated the symptoms.

Guided by the 5-HT2ARs docking map, the team engineered multiple LSD cousins that preferably bind to the anti-depressant dock. Repeating the experiment, they found two chemicals (with the non-catchy names of IHCH-7079 and IHCH-7806) that had antidepressant activity, without the head-twitching normally seen with LSD or psilocybin.

The study is one of many following the recipe towards a new generation of mind-healing rather than mind-bending substances. How they work remain a mystery, which is why intricate scrutiny of 5-HT2AR and other serotonin receptors is the current playbook.

On the front line are Dr. David Olson at the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Bryan Roth at UNC-Chapel Hill. Several years back, Olson synthesized near a dozen chemicals similar to LSD, with a promising result called TBG (tabernanthalog) that also binds to serotonin receptors. In mice, the drug boosted the neuronal infrastructure for learning, and cut down substance-seeking behavior in rodents. Mid-2021, a single dose of the drug was further found to be effective for stress disorders in mice. Delix Therapeutics, a company co-founded by Olson, is rapidly exploring the new drugs for clinical use, with trials potentially starting later this year.

Meanwhile, Roth has worked to decipher the structure of 5-HT2AR when bound to psychedelic compounds. The seminal study, in 2020, gained a first glimpse into how they act. Given the remarkable efficacy of psilocybin for depression (in Phase II trials), we are confident our findings will accelerate the discovery of fast-acting antidepressants and potentially new drugs to treat other conditions, such as severe anxiety and substance use disorder, he said at the time.

For now, the authors preach caution. Similar to previous non-hallucinogenic cousins, their molecules need a high dose to see anti-depressant effects. But the new structural maps add to a growing atlas to help guide non-hallucinogenic drugs forward. This additional structural data will aid efforts to design new antidepressants as well as antipsychotics, said Olson.

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Psychedelics Without the Trip Could Be 'Healing Magic' for Mental Health - Singularity Hub

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced at a press conference on Friday that he is aiming to formally file his much-anticipated bill to federally legalize marijuana in April. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who also spoke, discussed progress on his separate legalization bill.

Both top lawmakers detailed their efforts to end prohibition at an event in New York City, which also involved House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), New York lawmakers and advocates with the Drug Policy Alliance and other organizations.

Friday proved to be an especially eventful day for federal cannabis policy, as the House earlier passed a large-scale bill that contains the bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. Its the sixth time that reform has cleared the chamber in some form.

In the coming weeks, were ramping up our outreachand we expect to introduce final legislation. Our goal is to do it in April, Schumer said at the New York event. Then we begin the nationwide push, spearheaded by New York, to get the federal law done. As majority leader, I can set priorities. This is a priority for me.

Advocates were encouraged when Schumer first disclosed details about his Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (CAOA), which he unveiled in draft form for public comment in July, but theyve grown impatient with his repeated comments in the months since that a formal introduction was coming soon. Now hes set a target timeline, and the leader also separately said in a meeting with activists that he expects committee hearings on the proposal shortly after its finally filed.

Right now, were taking those comments [on the draft version] and reaching out to Democratic and Republican senators, Schumer said, adding that we have some Republican support. Its not clear if hes indicating that there will be GOP cosponsors on the bill itself or if hes referencing general support from voters and some lawmakers across party lines for ending prohibition.

If any senators have other ideas that they want to add to the bill, as long as it keeps social and economic justice as the spearhead, were happy and willing to listen, he said.

Even if committee hearings start quickly following an April introduction, it seems highly unlikely that it will pass and make it to the presidents desk by the unofficial cannabis holiday 4/20, as Schumer said he wanted to see happen in a Senate floor speech delivered last April 20.

Schumer, Nadler, several New York lawmakers also made the case at Fridays event that while New Yorks legalization law, which is actively being implemented, should serve as a model for the country, comprehensive equity will only be achievable once federal prohibition is lifted.

We want to renew the case for comprehensive marijuana reform that repairs the harm of the war on drugs at the federal level, using the great work that has been done here in New York as an example and way to lead, Schumer said, adding that just because we have a state law, the federal law still creates problems, and thats why one of the many reasons we need to change it.

The majority leaders office has been involved in negotiations with advocates and stakeholders, both on his legalization measure as well as the SAFE Banking Act, which he was blamed for blocking as part of a separate defense bill late last year.

The leader and colleagues have insisted on passing comprehensive legalization first before bankingbut the sponsor of the banking bill, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), told Marijuana Moment on Friday that, after initiating conversations with the leaders office, there may be a path forward to advance his legislation through both chambers with equity-focused amendments that Schumer wants to see.

With respect to Schumers legalization bill, the Senate leader emphasized late last year that he wants to keep the big boys out of the marijuana industryin favor of creating opportunities for smaller operators when cannabis is federally legalized, and he said that his upcoming bill would accomplish that.

We dont want the big boys to come in, he said at the time. After all the pain thats been occurring in communities like the one you represent in Brooklyn, where Im fromto have the big boys come in and make all the money makes no sense.

Hes made similar remarks in the past, stressing that his reform bill will take specific steps torestrict the ability of large alcohol and tobacco companiesto overtake the industry.

Nadler, meanwhile, discussed on Friday his Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would also end federal prohibition and promote social equity in the industry like CAOA. That bill passed the House in a historic first last session, and it cleared Nadlers Judiciary Committee again in September.

The war on drugsand particularly the criminalization of marijuanahas been a failure that has unleashed untold suffering on millions of Americans, especially within minority communities, Nadler said. I am proud to stand here with Senator Schumer, and with the many other legislators and advocates with us today, who are leading the way in reforming our laws and bringing justice to those who have been harmed by these unfair and destructive policies.

Also at the event, Velazquez talked about the importance of ending prohibition, as well as opening up Small Business Administration (SBA) resources for marijuana businesses.

Change will not happen, change will not come, unless we demand it, the congresswoman said. And because we have been demanding it, public opinion has changed dramatically. So it is time for government to act, particularly the federal government.

Dan Goldman contributed reporting from New York.

Marijuana Banking Sponsor Says Hes In Amendment Talks With Senate Leader As House Passes Reform For Sixth Time

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.

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Utah Lawmakers Vote To Study Benefits Of Psychedelics In Treating Mental Health Disorders - Marijuana Moment

Welcome to TDRs review of the Top 5 Psychedelic developments for the week of January 31. Aside from presenting a synopsis of events, we provide market commentary to summarize the week that was for publicly-listed companies.

5. Health Canada Denies Healthcare Practitioners Section 56 ExemptionsAfter Granting Them To A Group In 2020

In a move that has stunned patient advocates and healthcare practitioners who have spent months awaiting a response from the federal health agency, Health Canada has denied dozens of requests for Section 56 exemptions to access and use psilocybin for training purposes.

Thread

BREAKING: Health Canada has just notified TheraPsil anddozens of health care professionals seeking psilocybin access and training that their section 56 exemptions are to be denied. (1/ )

Non-profit organizationTherapsilbroke the news on Twitter on Wednesday morning, pointing out that the denied applications will have a much greater impact than on those whose applications were denied, potentially affecting over 1,000 additional healthcare professionals on its training waiting list who had hoped to apply for exemptions.

The decision is particularly confusing because Health Canadahas already provided exemptionsto people who had applied with the same intent.

4. Washington Legislature Hears Proposal to Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms

Anyone 21 and older in the state of Washington could gain access to psychedelic mushrooms in 2024 if a proposal being heard in the Legislature passes this session.

I do not believe it belongs because its not addictive and generally not dangerous when theres a set and setting.

A Senate bill would direct the Department of Health to create a system allowing for anyone 21 or older to take mushrooms at a state-licensed center under the direct supervision of licensed facilitators. Individuals medically unable to travel to a center may be able to take mushrooms at home.

Prime sponsor Jesse Salomon, D-Shoreline, said he became interested in mushrooms after the Legislature dealt withthe effects of the Blake v. State drug possession ruling. Psilocybin is grouped with heroin and meth as some of the most dangerous drugs under the federal Controlled Substances Act. But Salomon said mushrooms and their history as a medicinal product are different from heroin and meth.

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Ongoing Phase 2, Phase 3, And Pre-Registration Programs In Psychedelics

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3. Psychedelic Stocks Outperform As Biopharma Stocks Stabilize

The psychedelic sector gained modestly this past week, although volumes were mostly lower across the board. TheHorizon Psychedelic Stock Index ETF(PSYK) rose4.18%, registering just its 3rd gain over the past 12 weeks. The rise is PSYK solidly outperformed its biopharma peers such as the Nasdaq Junior Biotechnology Index(2.68%) andNasdaq Biotechnology Ishares ETF(2.07%). The broad markets remained volatile, but did finish moderately higher despite Thursdays purge in equity markets. TheNASDAQadvanced 1.76% while the S&P 500climbed 1.52%. Heres how the Health Care (biotechnology) sector performed this week.

Not a whole lot of groundbreaking news on the psychedelic research front. From a capital markets perspective, it was nice to see the sector stabilize in the face of whipsawing volatility. We count 8 companies that registered triple-digit weekly gainsup from 4 last week. This was mostly due to sellers retreating after a long and drawn-out period of bear market action. Were looking for bottom-base building to delineate the markets floor before to inspire confidence that the bear impulse has ended. An important tell will be when PSYK ETF breaks its weekly 7EMA on strong volume.

EHVVF +23.75%, LOBE +20%, PWR +15.38%, DMT +13.95%, PULL +11.76%, WUHN +11.07%, OPTI +10.8%, BRAXF +10.68%, MMED +9.2%, BRAX +8.33%, MNMD +7.69%, FTRP +6.4%, MSET +5.19%, BETR +4.76%, ENBI +4.17%, ATAI +3.85%, SPOR +3.08%.

In the news

Awakn Life Sciences became the latest psychedelic company to obtain coverage under theH.C. Wainwrightumbrella. The New York investment bank initiated Awakn with a Buy rating and $10 price target.

Braxia Scientific provided an update on the companys leading research role within the psychedelics industry. Braxias team of researchers also continue to carry out multiple psychedelic-based clinical research trials, adding to its large and growing proprietary dataset critical to informing future drug development.

Colorado activists file competing psychedelics legalization ballot initiative for 2022.

Cybin Inc. reiterated by Oppenheimer with an Outperform rating and US$10 price target.

Elemental Advisorshas announceda new psychedelics ETF will soon be available topsychedelics investors. The ETF will trade under the symbol ofPSYKon theNew York Stock Exchange.

Entheon Biomedical announced the approval by the local Dutch ethics committee of EBRX-101, a comprehensive phase I clinical trial evaluating the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and safety profile of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT).

Field Trip Health plans to release financial results for the fiscal third quarter ended December 31, 2021, after market close on Tuesday, February 15, 2022.

A Maine state lawmaker and others who testified at a legislative hearing on Tuesday have said they would like to see psilocybin allowed for people 21 years and older in order to treat people for depression or PTSD.

Mind Cure Health announced the hiring of Dr.Clare Purvis, formerly Headspace Inc.s Vice President of Clinical Product and Content Development, for the companys newly created role of Chief Product Officer to focus on building and expanding the reach of iSTRYM, its digital therapeutics platform

Mindset Pharma has synthesized additional promising candidates from its Family 3 of next generation drug candidates, and will initiate Proof of Concept preclinical studies to further measure the viability of these compounds as daily pro-cognitive take-home medication.

Mydecine Innovations has appointed Dr. Victoria Hale to the companys Board of Directors. Dr. Hale is a pharmaceutical scientist and executive, as well as a global health social entrepreneur. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

Mydecine also announced preparation for its FDA pre-Investigational New Drug meeting on February 28th, the company has submitted a pre-IND briefing package to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a clinical study evaluating MYCO-001 in a structured smoking cessation treatment program.

A Seattle doctor specializing in end-of-life care filed a formal petition with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration this week challenging the governments Schedule I classification of psilocybin, the main psychoactive component of psychedelic mushrooms.

Small Pharma published its third quarter results for the three and nine months ended November 30, 2021.

Tryp Therapeutics announced a non-brokered private placement to its co-Founder and Executive Director, William J. Garner, M.D. The Placement consists of 11,111,111 million units at a price of $0.18 per unit, with one common share warrant for each unit, to raise gross proceeds of approximately $2.0 million.

2. Report Shows Oregon Drug Decriminalization Has Dramatically Reduced Arrests And Increased Harm Reduction Access One Year After Enactment

According to information shared withFilterby the Drug Policy Alliance, there were 60 percent fewer total drug arrests in state over the 10 months after February 1, 2021, compared with the same period the previous year. That 2020 period saw 9,100 drug arrests in totalmeaning a reduction of almost 5,500 arrests. However, the data do not yet show the extent to which this decline was attributable to Measure 110.

Measure 110 also requires that a portion of cannabis tax revenue be put into a special fund to expand services for people who use drugs. Before the measure passed, Oregonrankednear the bottom of all U.S. states for access to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment.

Thanks to the measure, the state has already paid out over $31.4 million to providers of services including treatment, harm reduction, peer support, and housing and employment support. Gov. Kate Brown (D) had initially wanted to delay payments until July 2022, but advocates toldFilterthat they successfully fought to get this money paid out early, helping to keep critical services running.

1. Utah Lawmakers Vote To Study Benefits Of Psychedelics In Treating Mental Health Disorders

A Utah House committee approved a bill on Thursday that would create a task force to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs and possible regulations for their lawful use.

Utah Lawmakers Vote To Study Benefits Of Psychedelics In Treating Mental Health Disorders: "If this is a tool that can help, we need it in our toolboxbut it needs to be safe, and we need to do it the right way." https://t.co/2vxKGgoct6

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Brady Brammer (R), passed the House Health and Human Services Committee in a 10-1 vote.

The bill would create a Mental Illness Psychotherapy Drug Task Force that would be required to study and make recommendations on drugs that may assist in treating mental illness. The psychotherapy drugs that the panel would consider are defined as controlled substances that are not currently available for legal use and may be able to treat, manage, or alleviate symptoms from mental illness.

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TDR's Top 5 Psychedelic Developments For The Week Of January 31 - The Dales Report

A commonly held belief that classic psychedelic therapy can trigger suicidal thoughts, actions, or other types of self-harm is not supported by research, and, in fact, the opposite may be true.

Results from a meta-analysis of individual patient data showed that psychedelic therapy was associated with large, acute, and sustained decreases in suicidality across a range of clinical patient populations.

"This is the first analysis to synthesize suicidality outcome data from recent clinical trials with psychedelics. It gives us a better understanding of the effects of psychedelics on suicidality in the context of clinical trials," study investigator Cory Weissman, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada, told Medscape Medical News.

The evidence suggests psychedelic therapy "may reduce suicidal ideation when administered in the appropriate setting and offered to carefully screened patients," Weissman said.

The findings were published online January 18 in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

The analysis included seven psychedelic therapy clinical trials that had data on suicidality. Five of the trials used psilocybin plus psychotherapy, and two used ayahuasca plus psychotherapy. All seven trials had a "low" risk of bias.

Patients included in the trials had treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD), recurrent MDD, AIDS-related demoralization, and distress related to life-threatening cancer.

The meta-analytic results showed significant decreases in suicidality at all acute time points (80 to 240 minutes post administration) and at most post-acute time points (1 day to 4 months post administration).

Effect sizes for reductions in suicidality were "large" at all acute time points, with standardized mean differences (SMD) ranging from -1.48 to -1.72, and remained large from 1 day to 34 months after therapy (SMD range, -1.50 to -2.36).

At 6 months, the effect size for reductions in suicidality with psychedelic therapy was "medium" (SMD, -0.65).

Large effect sizes for reductions in suicidality occurred across the different patient populations represented in the trial, the investigators note.

No study reported any suicide-related adverse events because of administration of a psychedelic. There were also "very few" acute (6.5%) or post-acute (3.0%) elevations in suicidality, "providing support for the safety of psychedelic therapy within controlled contexts," the researchers write.

They caution, however, that large controlled trials that specifically evaluate the effect of psychedelic therapy on suicidality are needed.

In an accompanying editorial, Daniel Grossman, BS, and Peter Hendricks, PhD, Department of Health Behavior, University of Alabama at Birmingham, note that results of this review warrant "optimism" for use of psychedelics for treatment of suicidality.

Based on this study and others, classic psychedelic therapy for suicidality appears to be a "promising avenue" for further investigation, they write.

However, research and anecdotes about increased suicidality and other self-harm attributed to psychedelic therapy, "though evidently rare, remain a critical concern" for further research to address, Grossman and Hendricks add.

The hope is that future research "clarifies who is most subject to these risks, what factors best identify them, and how best to navigate their treatment safely," they write.

The meta-analysis had no funding. Weissman receives funding from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation and serves on the advisory board of GoodCap Pharmaceuticals. Hendricks is on the scientific advisory board of Bright Minds Biosciences Ltd, Eleusis Benefit Corporation, and Rest Pharmaceuticals Inc.

J Clin Psychiatry. Published online January 18, 2022. Abstract, Editorial

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Psychedelic Therapy and Suicide: A Myth Busted? - Medscape

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