Clinical trials point to psychedelics' potential to help people recover from trauma and mental illness. However, abuse is alleged to be common between “guides” and “clients”. At the same time, laws, regulations, and public attitudes around psychedelic drugs are changing--fast. The U.S. state of Oregon, for example, is building a regulatory framework for supervised "non-medical" use of psilocybin (from "magic mushrooms"), which will launch in 2023; meanwhile Colorado is set to decide whether to permit “healing centers” where psilocybin can be bought and consumed. Canada now grants physicians clinical access to psychedelics, and Washington, DC and Detroit are among list of cities that have recently decriminalized psychedelics.

While indigenous communities have long used psychedelics to heal and develop spiritual insights, a global underground community touts the powers of psychedelics for healing, claims being investigated in clinical trials. However, abuse (including sexual abuse) is alleged to be common among unlicensed “guides” who lead vulnerable “clients” on trips and some clients have had disturbing trips that worsen, rather than improve, their mental health.

Although there is great interest – and a lot of money – now flowing into start-ups hoping to "mainstream" (and monetize) psychedelic use, the ethical and regulatory challenges that lie ahead have barely been discussed.

Dr Brian Earp is a Senior Research Fellow in the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford and author with Julian Savulescu of Love Drugs: The Chemical Future of Relationships (Stanford University Press 2020).

This public lecture is also going to be live streamed.

Live stream link

https://echo360.net.au/section/d726500b-1e81-4806-a12d-cbb7b8e65130/public