A flurry of state psychedelics bills, atai stock price plummets, the subtypes of psychedelic experiences

Plus: Psilocybin and depression, Oregon, and Prince Harry

Happy Friday, and welcome back to The Microdose. 

The State of Psychedelics: A flurry of bills

Since the start of Virginia’s legislative session, lawmakers have introduced two psychedelics bills: Senate Bill 932 would reclassify psilocybin from Schedule I to Schedule III in state law, and House Bill 1513 would amend current laws to allow possession of psilocybin to treat depression, PTSD, or end-of-life anxiety. Both bills have been referred to committees for further consideration.

In Illinois, representative La Shawn Ford (D) introduced the Compassionate Use and Research of Entheogens Act, or House Bill 1, which would create a state Psilocybin Advisory Board and establish psilocybin services, similar to Oregon’s Measure 109. This week, Connecticut representative David Michel (D) introduced H.B. 5102, which would “allow the use of psilocybin for medicinal and therapeutic purposes.” The text of the bill includes no details beyond that and is considered a placeholder. Additionally, Marijuana Moment reports that representatives in Missouri, Minnesota, and Montana are all in the process of drafting psychedelics bills to be introduced in states’ 2023 legislative sessions.

atai stock price plummets 

Last Friday, atai Life Sciences published a press release announcing results from their phase 2 clinical trial using PCN-101, their proprietary formulation of R-ketamine. In that study of 102 people, the group of participants that received ketamine-assisted therapy did not show a statistically significant improvement in their depression scores compared to a group that received placebo. After that announcement, atai’s stock price fell by nearly 40 percent. 

This isn’t the first time atai’s falling stock has been in the news; after the company’s stock fell drastically in December 2021, the company’s founder Christian Angermayer publicly announced he and other investors had agreed to hold onto their shares for a two-year voluntary period. However, the company’s stock price continued to drop; it’s plunged nearly 92 percent since its IPO in June 2021.

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The subtypes of psychedelic experiences

Researchers and psychonauts alike have long suspected that the trippy effects of a psychedelic trip, like hallucinations or feelings of connection, have something to do with the substances’ healing power. In a new study, a group of researchers asks whether there are subtypes of psychedelic experiences, like “mystical” or “challenging,” and whether participants’ experiences with those subtypes might predict how their anxiety or depression symptoms changed after a psychedelic trip.

For the study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, researchers reanalyzed data used in a study published in 2020, which found that mystical experiences were correlated with reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms. The scientists’ new analyses used machine learning to glean three common subtypes that describe participants’ subjective experiences: mystical, challenging, and psychological insight. Participants who had mystical experiences with psychologically insightful elements and few challenging aspects were most likely to report improvements in their depression and anxiety symptoms. “These findings also suggest that efforts to increase psychedelic associated personal and mystical insight experiences may be key to maximizing beneficial impact of clinical approaches using this treatment in their patients," the authors write. Additionally, the researchers found that different psychedelics were associated with different experience subtypes. “LSD and psilocybin may be better suited for the most beneficial subtypes of the psychedelic experience,” they write. 

Psilocybin and symptoms of depression 

In a study published in the last days of 2022, University of Zurich researchers reported that a single, moderate dose of psilocybin seemed to improve participants’ depression symptoms for two weeks after treatment. The clinical trial, published in eClinicalMedicine, a journal associated with The Lancet, included 52 participants; half received psilocybin while the other half received a placebo. Both groups’ dosing sessions were accompanied by psychological counseling. Though there is some preliminary evidence that two sessions of psilocybin-assisted therapy is associated with a decrease in depression symptoms for as long as a year after treatment, it’s not yet clear how long the effects of a single dose of psilocybin might persist. 

The Latest in Oregon: Building out final psilocybin services rules

Two bills filed in the Oregon legislature this week would place new requirements on psilocybin services in the state. 

Senate Bill 302 would require all applicants for psilocybin manufacturing to submit information about the ownership of their business and the location of the manufacturing site. The bill would require the Oregon Health Authority, or OHA, to verify that the information provided by applicants is correct. It would also stipulate that OHA cannot consider whether psilocybin manufacturing license applicants have been formerly convicted of manufacturing marijuana or psilocybin. 

The other new Oregon bill, Senate Bill 303, would direct OHA to require all psilocybin service centers and facilitators to collect and report data about their work, including demographics of clients like disability status, race, ethnicity, gender identity, veteran status, and education level. OHA would also need to collect the stated reasons clients seek services; the cost of services; any adverse events reported by clients; and details about the type of treatment provided.

• In a 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper, Prince Harry discusses his new book and how he used psychedelics, including ayahuasca and psilocybin, to cope with his lingering grief over his mother’s death. “For me, they cleared the windscreen, the windshield, the misery of loss,” he says.

 

• In a press release, biotechnology company Tryp Therapeutics announced a partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital to conduct a Phase 2 clinical trial investigating how psilocybin-assisted therapy might be used to treat irritable bowel syndrome. 

• DoubleBlind asks: Can psychedelics repair consciousness after brain trauma? And furthermore: if they indeed can, is doing so ethical? 

• The Cut explores how psychedelics might be used to treat eating disorders.

• Clinicians tell the Calgary Herald that Alberta’s rules governing psychedelic-assisted therapy are a barrier for providing treatment to patients. 

You’re all caught up! Have a great weekend. We’ll be back in your inbox on Monday with a new issue of 5 Questions.

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