Does psilocybin treatment need therapy? Group files for a psychedelics ballot initiative in Massachusetts; A new U.S. national poll asks respondents how they feel about psychedelics
Plus: More police raids on shroom dispensaries in Canada, and Berkeley passes psychedelics resolution
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.
New paper: Does psilocybin treatment require therapy?
The vast majority of research studies and regulated access models for psychedelics include not just administration of psychedelic drugs, but also some sort of therapy or guidance. In a new article published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers at the University of Texas and psychedelics company COMPASS Pathways argue that the field needs to be clearer about the role of psychedelics and the role of therapy in treatment. “It is important to get this right, because regulatory bodies are asked to approve drugs with a defined efficacy and safety, not psychotherapies,” they write.
They contend that psychedelic drugs like psilocybin and MDMA are driving therapeutic effects, and that preparation, in-session support, and integration are crucial for safety reasons but not for the efficacy of the drugs. “The effects observed thus far in the best controlled studies of psychedelic treatment must be attributed to the drug itself and not to psychotherapy,” they write. “In the case of psilocybin, for example, let us say simply ‘psilocybin treatment.’” A model of psychedelic treatment less tightly bound to a guided therapy approach might benefit psychedelics companies seeking to reduce costs — which might also in turn benefit some of the papers’ authors, who are employed by, consult for, and have stock in several different psychedelics companies.
The State of Psychedelics: Potential Massachusetts ballot initiative, Berkeley passes psychedelic resolution
A group called Massachusetts for Mental Health Options has filed forms with the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance signaling that they plan to organize a ballot initiative for “creating access to natural psychedelic medicine therapy and removing criminal penalties for personal possession of these medicines.” The Microdose reached out to the organizers behind the ballot measure but did not receive a response. According to the news site State House News Service, their journalist's interview request was directed to New Approach, the non-profit which helped pass ballot initiatives in Oregon and Colorado that established state-regulated psilocybin access.
On Tuesday, Berkeley, California’s city council voted to deprioritize the enforcement of laws imposing criminal penalties for entheogenic or psychedelic plants and fungi for personal use, and to encourage public health officials to explore harm reduction methods and data collection on psychedelic use and health outcomes. The resolution was a modified version of a resolution passed by the Berkeley Community Health Commissioners in November 2022; the earlier version would have included LSD, but the new version includes only “plant or fungus biosynthesized” substances.
In an email to The Microdose, Berkeley Community Health Commissioner and bioethicist Joseph Holcomb Adams explained that the phrase “specifically communicates that we are focusing on how the particular material in one’s possession was actually produced, rather than distinguishing between compounds based on some sort of ‘comes from the earth, man’ standard (e.g., possession of synthetic psilocybin is not allowed, even though possession of mushroom biosynthesized psilocybin is). The language also emphasizes that we are still fundamentally talking about chemicals here.”
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U.S. poll suggests voters cautiously support psychedelics reform
Roughly half of the 1,500 participants in a nationally representative poll of U.S. voters launched by the University of California Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (publisher of The Microdose) reported having heard about psychedelics recently, saying that they, or someone close to them, have used a psychedelic. Pollsters asked randomly selected participants about their views on psychedelics over a week in mid-June.
Those polled were generally supportive of policy changes like making it easier to do psychedelic research (78%), creating a regulated framework for the therapeutic use of psychedelics (61%), and FDA approval for prescription psychedelics (56%). Fewer respondents supported policy changes that would allow religious or spiritual psychedelic use (44%). Those who had used psychedelics or knew someone who did were much more likely to support policy changes that increase access to the substances.
In general, respondents were quite wary of psychedelic drugs; 69% of those polled would describe psychedelics as “dangerous,” while only 20% would describe them as “good for society”, and 14% agreed that psychedelics were “something for people like me.” Respondents were also not particularly confident about which substances were considered psychedelics, outside of LSD and psilocybin. (Only 35% had even heard of ayahuasca, and just 12% knew what ibogaine was, and of those who did, most did not identify it as a psychedelic.) The poll also measured use of psychedelics and the trustworthiness of various sources of psychedelics information, including the FDA.
Canadian police continue whack-a-mole raids on shroom dispensaries
Last Friday, two illicit psilocybin dispensaries in Hamilton, Ontario were raided and shut down by local police. According to the CBC, Hamilton police say they “seized over $70,000 in psilocybin and psilocybin-infused edibles, as well as cash,” and that two people were arrested and charged with drug trafficking. Meanwhile, in Montreal, Quebec, a new psilocybin dispensary opened on Tuesday. Local police immediately raided it and arrested four people. One of the store’s owners told the CBC that he and his partners expected the store to be raided by police, but he assured customers the store would reopen immediately. Over the last year, police across Canada have been raiding these dispensaries even as more continue to pop up.
Differentiating between medical, wellness, and religious access to psychedelics
As more media outlets are covering psychedelics, that coverage “often does not distinguish between medical, religious, wellness, and recreational psychedelic use, often viewing it all through a mental health treatment lens,” mental health advocacy group BrainFutures writes in a new report laying out the different ways people may access psychedelics. And it’s not just media outlets — BrainFutures writes that, “advocates of wellness access often speak about the Oregon and Colorado programs using words like ‘therapy’ and ‘mental health,’ while citing data and outcomes from clinical trials as rationale for creating or funding such programs.” But conflating medical use with religious or recreational use can confuse people. The organization also recommends that psychedelic practitioners and advocates avoid making unvalidated claims about health benefits and abstain from the unlicensed practice of medicine or psychotherapy.
The Washington Post reviews the recent history of federal psychedelics bills and why U.S. representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D), Matt Gaetz (R), Lou Correa (D) and Dan Crenshaw (R), and lobbyist Tom Rodgers have been advocating for new psychedelics legislation.
University of California San Diego announced that it’s launching a new research program to study DMT.
July 1 marks 50 years since former President Richard Nixon established the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) within the Department of Justice in 1973. In Salon, journalist Troy Farah makes the case for abolishing the agency. “Instead of truly addressing the deepening drug problem in the U.S., the DEA has worsened public health outcomes related to drug use, promoted racially stigmatizing policies, stomped on civil liberties and burned stacks of cash in a vain effort to control the uncontrollable,” he writes.
In an essay published by Mad in America, psychotherapist Tara Rae Behr reflects on her experiences with the embattled and now-defunct School of Consciousness Medicine, psychedelic hype, and the death of her friend Cody Riggs during a multi-day ayahuasca dieta. “Psychedelics will not save you or take away the pain of our fragmented society. They can be an ally, but they can also be used to harm and perpetuate trauma, separation and isolated selfhood,” she writes.
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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