A non-hallucinogenic LSD analog?; Texas committee advances ibogaine research grant bill; Psyence bets on ibogaine
Plus: Bills advance in Connecticut and Nevada, and can LSD microdoses increase sleep lengths?
Happy Friday and welcome back to The Microdose, an independent journalism newsletter brought to you by the U.C. Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.
A non-hallucinogenic LSD analog?
This week, researchers at UC Davis published a paper in PNAS on their synthesis of JRT, a drug that is nearly identical to LSD save two transposed atoms. The authors claim JRT is “exceptionally potent,” and has decreased potential to cause hallucinations. The researchers examined how JRT binds to neurotransmitter receptors, including serotonergic 5-HT receptors, which classic psychedelics act on, as well as the drug’s effects on mice. In their mouse studies, they compared the frequency of rodent head twitching to determine JRT’s hallucinogenic potential compared to that of psychedelics. They found that mice given JRT were also more likely than a control group to keep swimming when placed in a water tank. (A “forced swim test” is a common way to measure depressive tendencies in mice, and a previous study from Olson’s lab found that rats whose 5-HT2A receptors were stimulated by serotonin also swam for longer.)
Of course mice are not humans, but the researchers hope the results will hold up in human participants as well: “While rodent behavioral and gene expression studies demonstrated a clear difference in the hallucinogenic potential of (+)-JRT compared to LSD, this difference might be even greater in humans,” they wrote. Corresponding author David Olson, director of UC Davis’s Institute for Psychedelic and Neurotherapeutics and co-founder of biotech company Delix Therapeutics, has been a leader in the study of what he calls “psychoplastogens” — drugs similar to psychedelics, but without the trip. (For more, read our 5 Questions interview with Olson.) These drugs, the study’s authors write, could be used with populations that are usually advised to avoid psychedelics, such as people who have a personal or family history of schizophrenia.
Texas committee advances ibogaine research grant bill
This week, the Texas House Public Health Committee voted to advance House Bill 3717, which would create a public-private partnership to fund a clinical trial using ibogaine to treat opioid use disorder, substance use disorders, and “any other neurological or mental health conditions for which ibogaine demonstrates efficacy.” If the bill passes, the state’s Health and Human Services Commission would create a grant program to evaluate applicants and set more specific standards for the trials. The recently founded Texas Ibogaine Initiative, spearheaded by Bryan Hubbard and the REID Foundation, has been a strong supporter of the bill, testifying on its behalf. REID and Hubbard first explored a public-private model for funding ibogaine research in Ohio, and they have been exploring the option in other states for the last year or so. So far, Texas appears to be the state where this approach to ibogaine research has gained the most traction.
Legislators are also still considering Senate Bill 3005 (and its companion in the House, HB 4014), which proposes studying the use of MDMA, psilocybin, and ketamine in treating mental health conditions including PTSD and depression.
Want the latest psychedelics news? Subscribe! (It’s free!)
Psyence bets on ibogaine
In other ibogaine-related developments, psychedelics company Psyence announced this week that it has invested $500,000 in PsyLabs, a company that specializes in producing extracts and other pharmaceutical ingredients for psychedelics research. The deal includes a right of first refusal for a “dedicated supply of ibogaine” to be used in the treatment of substance use disorder. Previously, Psyence was focused primarily on psilocybin research, but is now looking to stake a claim in ibogaine research as well.
According to a company summary published last summer, the company has a facility in Southern Africa that can produce around 4,000 therapeutic doses of ibogaine a month, and plans to scale that production. For reference, ibogaine doses used in substance use disorder studies typically range between between 500 to 1000 mg; the 2025 quota set by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for the amount of ibogaine to be used in research is 210 grams, which would equate to anywhere from 200-400 doses.
Bills advance in Connecticut and Nevada
On Tuesday, the Nevada Assembly’s Committee on Health and Human Services voted to advance AB 378, the Alternative Therapy Pilot Program. The bill would create a program allowing veterans and first responders with mental health conditions including PTSD, depression, and anxiety to receive psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline under medical supervision. The state’s Division of Public and Behavioral Health would be tasked with creating rules for the program, including what types of practitioners would be authorized to provide this medical supervision.
Last week, Connecticut’s Joint Judiciary Committee voted 29-12 to advance House Bill 7065, which proposes changes to the penalties for possession of less than half an ounce of psilocybin. Per the bill, psilocybin possession would be a class A misdemeanor subject to a fine between $150 and $500, without the possibility of jail time.
A similar bill was introduced in the Connecticut legislature last year and in 2023, but these bills ultimately floundered. Additionally, even if HB 7065 passes, Governor Ned Lamont could decide to veto it; during last year’s legislative session, a spokesperson for the governor told the Hartford Courant that “the governor has concerns about broad decriminalization of mushrooms.”
Could LSD microdoses increase sleep lengths?
While many people have reported they feel better after microdosing, clinical trials that use a placebo control have yet to find evidence that microdosing is more effective than a placebo at improving mood, cognition, or ADHD symptoms. A new study, published this week in Translational Psychiatry, finds that LSD microdoses do appear to affect sleep. University of Auckland researchers recruited 80 men to participate in a 6-week long study, in which they were assigned to take either an LSD microdose or placebo every third day and wore a Fitbit to track their sleep patterns. Those in the microdosing condition slept an average of 24 minutes more each night.
The additional sleep, the authors speculate, could be part of why microdosers see benefits to their mood. “Difficulties with sleeping are commonly reported in mood disorders such as major depressive disorder and premenstrual dysphoric disorder,” they write, citing a study that found that people with depression slept 40 minutes less on average than people who were not depressed. The authors plan to continue probing the link between sleep and LSD microdosing in an in-progress phase 2 study of people with major depressive disorder.
The Arizona Republic reports on how former U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema has spent the remainder of her roughly $4 million in campaign funding after announcing last year she was not seeking re-election. Psychedelic advocacy group VETS has received $50,000 of the remaining $4 million.
The Times tracked a shipment of British street ketamine to its origins in an Indian factory. “Is it small-time criminals? No. It’s big, transnational organisations,” says Andy Kraag, head of serious organised crime at Europol, told the paper. “They have been in the drug business for years. Ketamine is just the newest dish on the menu.”
In Denver, singles can speed date on shrooms. Westword visits Plant Magic Cafe’s Mushroom Matchup, whose director of marketing and programming says the mushrooms help attendees get over the jitters, and “allows folks to experience connection on a different level.”
The first issue of Elastic, a magazine of psychedelic art and literature, is out. (Read our 5 Questions for Elastic founder Hillary Brenhouse for more about her vision for the publication.)
You’re all caught up! We’ll be back in your inbox next Friday with a new issue of This Week in Psychedelics.
If you know anyone who might like the latest on psychedelics in their inbox, feel free to forward this to them, or click below.
Got tips? Email us at themicrodose@berkeley.edu.