Beckley Foundation

The Beckley Foundation is one of the leading voices that has spurred the scientific renaissance of psychedelics research. Led by Amanda Fielding, the NGO funds research and engages with politicians.

The Beckley Foundation

“The Beckley Foundation pioneers psychedelic research to drive evidence-based drug policy reform, founded and directed by Amanda Feilding as a UK-based think-tank and NGO.”

The work done by the Beckley Foundation focuses on two areas:

1. Investigate the effects of psychedelics (e.g. through the funding of studies done in cooperation with others, see below)
2. Change policies around the world (by presenting the research and engaging with politicians)

History

First founded as The Foundation to Further Consciousness in 1996, the name changed to the Beckley Foundation in 1998.

It has been at the forefront of global drug policy reform and scientific research ever since.

One underlying goal of the foundation is to further our understanding of consciousness. And that as a goal to better harness (psychedelics to) improve the human condition.

Read more about Amanda’s (and the foundations) history here.

Key Staff

• Amanda Feilding – Founder and Director
• Valerie Bonnelle – Scientific Officer
• Vivian Kear – Office Manager/PA
• Sasha Frost – Content Manager
• Alex Blanchard – Communications Officer
• Hattie Wells – Policy Project Coordinator

Collaborations

The Beckley Foundation works together with many others around the world. In many cases, they are the first to sponsor a study into psychedelics and break through conventions.

• Beckley/Imperial Psychedelic Research Programme
  • Together with David Nutt and Robin Carhart-Harriss and many more
  • Responsible for some of the most important publications in the last 10 years
• Beckley/Brazil Research Programme
  • Research into the human health benefits from LSD with Brazilian neuroscientists
• Beckley/Maastricht Psychedelic Programme
  • Research into the neuropsychological effects of psychedelic drugs
  • With Jan Ramaekers and Kim Kuypers
• Beckley/Sant Pau Research Programme
  • Using MRI and Spectroscopy to study ayahuasca and DMT
• Beckley/Exeter University Programme
  • Studying the therapeutic benefits of cannabis
  • Including a study on CBD for smoking cessation
• University College London
  • Studying the effects of different strains of cannabis on the brain
  • Earlier studies on MDMA
• Beckley/Sechenov Institute Research Programme
  • Studying cerebral circulation (age-related diseases, no apparent link with psychedelics)
  • Together with Yuri Moskalenko
• Johns Hopkins University
  • Collaboration with Prof Roland Griffiths & Dr. Matthew Johnson
  • Studying psilocybin, sponsored an early study on overcoming nicotine addiction
• King’s College London
  • Researching the relationship between CBD and THC and how this might affect psychotic symptoms (pure THC without CBD might lead to more psychosis), using brain imaging and EEG
  • Together with Paul Morrison
• Cardiff University
  • Studying the effects of MDMA for patients with PTSD (double-blind placebo-controlled fMRI)
  • With Jonathan Bisson, Ben Sessa, Mat Hoskins
• The Beckley Foundation Ethnobotanicals Research Programme
  • Together with Pablo Friedlander
  • A series of studies on traditional ‘healing/teaching’ plants
• International Center for Ethnobotanical Education Research & Service (ICEERS)
  • A longitudinal study on the effects of ayahuasca
  • With about 580 people (each year)
  • Cooperation with Ben de Loenen and the Temple of the Way of the Light in Peru
• Medical Office for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
  • Study into LSD-assisted psychotherapy for end-of-life anxiety
  • Together with MAPS, Peter Gasser, Torsten Passie
• Freiburg University
  • Study on meditation and its relationship to neuroscience, mindfulness, and personal experiences (EEG)
  • Together with Thilo Hinterberger
• Hannover Medical School
  • A study on a non-psychoactive analog of LSD (2-bromo-LSD) and its effect on stopping cluster headaches
  • Together with Torsten Passie (also see two above)

The Beckley Foundation also has recently spun off a for-profit company Beckley Psytech that aims to develop psychedelics as medicines.

They also sponsor events that includes ICPR among others.