Psychedelics News February 2021

February 2021 was another great month for psychedelic research and advocacy. Many brain (fMRI) studies were done and these help us better understand the mechanisms of action and why people respond in different ways to psychedelics. One study (in mice) even provided (more) evidence for neuronal growth.

Other studies found psychedelics to be helpful for suicidal ideation (ketamine) for a longer duration than previously found. And when taken outside the lab, DMT showed similar effects. The effect of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for alcoholism takes the crown this month. The BIMA study found a significant reduction in alcohol consumption, we can’t wait for the double-blind placebo-controlled follow-up.

Advocates for psychedelic decriminalization are on a roll, with Norway introducing legislation to focus on education, not punishment. Vermont has a bill in the works, but Hawaii has to try again.

Finally, in the ‘more news’ section there are more popular articles about psychedelics then ever. From Vogue to Rolling Stone, psychedelics are quickly becoming mainstream. Let’s make sure it happens in the right way.

Psychedelic News of February 2021 – Week 1

Recent Research

A brain modeling study (analysis, study) finds the topographic effects (where) LSD changes functional connectivity (FC) in the brain. This is done via the modulation of serotonin 2A pyramidal cells.

Looking back at recent research, a review paper (analysis, study) investigates the trends in the top-cited papers on psychedelics and finds more RCT studies on psilocybin being done that get cited more often.

A pre-print fMRI study (n=15, analysis, study) investigated the effects of psilocybin (14-21mg/70kg) on the brain and found that the higher the psilocin (active metabolite of psilocybin) and subjective drug experience (SDI) correlated with lower network integrity and segregation (less top-down, more bottom-up).

NGO and Advocacy

Unfortunately, Australia hasn’t approved MDMA and psilocybin as potential therapeutic tools (yet). The rescheduling from prohibited substance to controlled medicine has (by interim decision) not been done.

There was more luck in Cambridge, where legislators voted to decriminalize all controlled substances.

Corporate Corner

Compass has released their training program (for Phase IIb) for therapists. It offers some insight into what the training looks like and what improvements await for Phase III. At the same time, the company has filed for a patent (see all patents) on exactly this method (read: so going much broader than a specific way of synthesizing psilocybin).

Mindset, a drug discovery company, has also filed for patents this week. The company is developing the next generation of psilocybin-inspired molecules that may offer benefits such as lower metabolic liability and a more predictable duration of action.

More News

• Idea Seeding (Mad Science Blog/Qwerky Science)
  • Good musings on how psychedelics lead to new insights
  • Talks about how psychedelics can increase openness (to new ideas) or suggestibility
  • And much more, recommended
• Ontology Of Psychiatric Conditions: Taxometrics (Astral Codex Ten – the new SSC – Scott Alexander)
• Ontology Of Psychiatric Conditions: Dynamical Systems (Astral Codex Ten)
  • Two awesome posts on how we define psychiatric conditions
  • Argues for more bell-curves (some people are on the extremes)
  • Whilst second post argues more for dynamical systems with two different ‘attractor’ states
  • ps this is a blog where you should read the comments!
• The Role of Oxytocin in MDMA’s Prosocial Effects (Psychedelic Science Review)
  • It’s complicated, but oxytocin alone won’t do the trick
• Pharmacological Testing in Psychedelic Research (Psychedelic Science Review)
  • A great explainer of radioligand binding- and functional assays
• Psychedelic Bulletin: the Changing Psychedelic Research Landscape; Compass Publishes Therapist Training Programme; and more… (Psilocybin Alpha)
  • Some more great news updates

Psychedelic News of February 2021 – Week 2

Recent Research

Ketamine isn’t the psychedelic best known for its long term positive outcomes. But more and more studies are showing the acute efficacy, for instance with suicidal ideation (SI). A recent open-label study (n=32, analysis, paper) with 6 dosages (weekly) of oral ketamine (35-210mg/70kg) found that it significantly reduced suicidal ideation in those with chronic suicidal thoughts, with clinically significant lower scores in 69% of participants at the end (which held at 50% 4 weeks later).

A naturalistic (open-label) EEG study (n=35, analysis, paper) with smoked DMT (~40mg) confirmed earlier findings (but now outside the lab) that DMT significantly decreased alpha, and increased delta and gamma oscillations. The latter also correlated with subjective mystical-type experiences (MEQ).

A double-blind placebo-controlled fMRI study (n=53, analysis, paper) on ketamine (r-ketamine, continuous iv) and cognition found that ketamine increased metacognitive bias, negatively impacted metacognitive sensitivity, and increased activation of posterior brain areas.

NGO and Advocacy

This week marked the (pre) launch of the MyDelica app by Imperial College London. It aims to be a harm-reduction app that tracks a variety of mental health indicators. It was previously covered both in WIRED and Vice.

Corporate Corner

In one of the more controversial moves, Compass has tried to patent just about everything surrounding a psychedelic-assisted therapy session. Although it’s clear that this won’t be granted, the question begs why they are even trying this (so parts of it may slip through?).

More News

• The Mushroom Moment Manifesto (Reason)
  • “Far from an escape from reality, they can provide an entry point to deeper engagement with your limitations, your fears, and your aspirations.”
  • “Even at their best, trips are always a workout, in the sense that a long hike up a mountain is a workout. You feel good and tired afterward.“
  • Recommended
• Meet Carl Hart: parent, Columbia professor – and heroin user (The Guardian)
  • Very openhearted talk with researcher and author (Drug Use for Grown-Ups)
  • Still difficult to understand his motivation for heroin use, but good notes on set and setting
• Do Psychedelic Drug Laws Violate Human Rights? (The Atlantic)
  • Older article (2016), but a good read and good to put into context of recent legal challenges/changes
• The Structure-Activity Relationship of Psilocybin Analogs (Psychedelic Science Review)
  • Good write-up of Klein and colleagues (2020)
• Could the Embrace of Psychedelics Lead to a Mental-Health Revolution? (Vogue)
  • A good week for mainstreaming psychedelics (Vogue, Atlantic, Guardian)
  • Reporting on psychedelic therapies, e.g. Mindbloom at home ketamine tablets
• Why Psychedelics Are a More ‘Compassionate’ Way to Treat Trauma (Inverse)
  • Interview with Elizabeth Neilson from Fluence
• Patent Combining Psychedelics With Cannabinoids Allowed by USPTO (Yahoo News/press release)
  • Patent granted to CaaMTech, does seem more ‘novel’ than Compass’ claims above

Psychedelic News of February 2021 – Week 3

Recent Research

A double-blind placebo-controlled study (n=30, analysis, paper) with intranasal ketamine (40mg) found significant reductions in suicidal ideation (SI, 80 vs 33% remission) and depressive symptoms (MADRS) 4 hours after administration for those with SI in the emergency department.

A pre-print article (analysis, paper) shows that brain cells, specifically the layer five pyramidal neurons in mice, grew by 10% after the introduction of psilocybin. The effects were still present 30 days later, providing more evidence for brain plasticity as an underlying mechanism of psychedelic-assisted therapies’ long-lasting effects.

Ben Sessa and colleagues have finally published the much talked about open-label study (n=14, analysis, paper) with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (2 sessions;187.5mg) and found it to be well-tolerated and safe to use. The average consumption of alcohol at 9 months later was 18.7 units, versus 130.6 units before the detox (start of study).

• Also reported in The Times, Health Europe, Psilocybin Alpha

An analysis of psilocybin dosages given in 10 previous studies (n=288, analysis, paper) found no effect of weight, nor gender, on the effects (acute or long-term) of the dosage (20-30mg) of psilocybin used. The authors recommend a fixed dosing approach going forward to simplify dosing regimes.

Psychedelics research into pain gets a welcome boost from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation. A $1.3 million grant for UC San Diego for the investigation of psilocybin for phantom limb pain will enable the first double-blind placebo-controlled study on this topic.

NGO and Advocacy

“The war on drugs has been a complete failure, it hasn’t stopped people from using drugs and it hasn’t stopped addiction.” – Senator Scott Wiener.

A new bill proposed in California would decriminalize psychedelics (with exception of peyote for conservation purposes). Although very much uncertain to pass, it’s a fantastic step forward. Notably, the bill also proposes to expunge criminal records for those convicted of crimes related to possession of psychedelics.

• Also reported by Forbes, The Guardian

Norway has proposed similar decriminalization legislature, removing penalties for buying and possessing a small amount of drugs.

Mark Haden has resigned as Executive Director of MAPS Canada following the controversy around bad practices with 5-MeO-DMT therapy of Martin Ball, his editor, and publisher of his Manual for Psychedelic Guides.

Corporate Corner

MindMed has bought a digital therapeutics startup, HealthMode, that they will integrate in their digital medicine division called Albert.

More News

• Ketamine Is Revealing a New Understanding of Depression and the Brain (Elemental)
  • hat tip to Tim Ferriss‘ newsletter
  • Good explanation of ketamine’s effects, and what we know (vs antidepressants)
• Will the Federal Government Finally Embrace the Psychedelic Revolution? (RollingStone)
  • Continuing last weeks trend, RollingStone reports on psychedelics and changing regulations
• Can LSD cure our pandemic anxiety? MindMed is spending big to find out (Fortune)
  • Reporting on MindMed, unfortunately it read like an ad for the company
• Texas Would Study Psilocybin And MDMA To Treat PTSD And Depression Under New Bill (Marijuana Moment)
  • A bill is proposed for the state to study psilocybin and MDMA, but it’s unlikely to pass
  • Still, as mentioned here and there, this is great progress for politicians even to be making these proposals
• The Market of Non-hallucinogenic Psychedelics: Patentable Molecules for the Sober-minded (APRA)
  • Written by fellow OPEN Foundation volunteer Alberto Cantizani López
  • Good reflections on the non-hallucinogenic psychedelics that are now being developed
  • The hypothesis, now tested in the lab, later in clinical trials, is that the psychedelic (subjective/acute) effects are caused by different brain mechanisms than that of the therapeutic effects
  • Implications for psychedelic research, commercialization, and more are discussed
• Psychedelic Therapy Needs to Confront the Mystical (Vice, by the excellent Shayla Love)
  • ‘Don’t religion and psychedelic’, or don’t push your belief systems on participants in clinical studies or therapeutic practice
  • But have room for the mystical, and know how to (help) integrate these experience
  • Alas, Shayla does quote a survey study (Davis et al, 2020) as proof that psychedelics make atheists believe, this is not so
    • The quote is a verbatim of the study, but both imply more than was happening (survey, specific group of users, expectations, and more)
• An Urgent Plea to Users of Psychedelics: Let’s Consider a More Ethical Menu of Plants and Compounds (Tim Ferriss)
  • If the popularity of psychedelics, helped on by Tim’s funding of psychedelic research, continues to rise without changes to which psychedelics are taken from where, some species may go extinct
  • The post offers alternatives for a variety of psychedelics as well as different ways of getting to the same molecules
• Scientists entered people’s dreams and got them ‘talking’ (Science Mag)
  • Also reported in The Economist, and tangentially related to psychedelics
  • Very limited communication as answers to novel questions, with only some being able to respond, but it’s a start
• Experientialist Theories of Well-Being (Qualia Research Institute)
  • An overview of the research into hedonism, through the ‘experientalist view’

Psychedelic News of February 2021 – Week 4

Recent Research

An analysis of online reports (n=96, study, analysis) found that the use of psychedelics in combination with lithium (n=62) led to seizures (47%), bad trips (64%), and emergency medical treatment (39%). The authors express the caution people should take when self-medicating/combining psychedelics with antidepressants (with lithium being commonly used for bipolar disorder). No such interactions were found with lamotrigine (n=34), another bipolar medication.

Following in the steps of Imperial College and Johns Hopkins, New York University (NYU) launches a Center for Psychedelic Medicine. The center launches with $10 million in funding. Next to research, the center will focus on training future researchers. Part of the funding was provided by MindMed ($5 million), Carey Turner (Heffter), Bill Linton (Usona), and Dr. Bronner’s.

NGO and Advocacy

More news outlets reported on Norway, a usually very conservative country with respect to drug laws. The country has proposed legislation to decriminalize possession of all drugs. The bill has been motivated by high drug deaths and the insight that education (mandatory) is better than punishment.

Vermont will soon follow other states and is currently preparing decriminalization bills. A similar bill didn’t make it through in Hawaii.

MAPS is recruiting volunteers for the second Phase III MDMA for PTSD trial in the US, and Phase II in the EU.

Corporate Corner

Awakn (Ben Sessa, David Nutt) will soon start accepting patients. The costs of treatment stand at $8,350, quite the hefty price for 2 to 3 sessions with ketamine and 12 weeks of psychotherapy in total (following a similar protocol to clinical trials).

You can find more news about psychedelics, in a weekly newsletter and podcast, at our friends from Report on Psychedelics.

More News

• Will Health Insurance Ever Cover Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies? (Truffle Report)
  • The combination of therapy and psychedelics (a medicine in this context) is something not often done so intesively (e.g. SSRIs do come with therapy but less intense)
  • The relatively high upfront costs (30hours, $2-5k in the article, but estimated at $7.5k by MAPS)
  • The answer to the title is not given, but the trials by Usona and MAPS (and Compass) should provide evidence of its effectiveness and FDA approval for MDMA and psilocybin as medicines
• Psychedelics show religion isn’t the only route to spirituality (Aeon, Chris Letheby)
  • Highlights on why spirituality (ala Sam Harris) doesn’t need to go hand in hand with religion
  • “Psychedelic evidence supports the idea that spirituality is about connection, aspiration and asking the big questions”
• European companies set to dominate psychedelics market (Sifted)
  • Profiles of EU companies (atai, Beckley, Compass) and potential market