Psychedelics News July 2020

This month starts with a feature of Psychedelic Science Review which has ramped up their reporting and translation of scientific papers to understandable blogs. Companies in the psychedelic space continue to release news, but most of it is about acquisitions, not much is about trial outcomes.

Do also see our Psychedelics Research July 2020 blog.

MAPS is halfway through their fundraising and decriminalization efforts in both the US and Canada are going well.

On the science side of things I want to plug ICPR, a science-oriented psychedelics conference that has gone digital and will run from 24-27 September. I’m also helping them with writing a few blogs, so watch out for the first one on creativity.

From Psychedelic Science Review:

• Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy and Experiential Efficacy
  • This article reports on, and dives deeper into the paper: “Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Paradigm Shift in Psychiatric Research and Development.”
  • Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) may challenge the conventional model by working in a different way (one to three sessions versus continuous medicine use)
  • The wide variety of ‘categories’ of mental disorders on which PAP works also prompts a possible shift in perspective
• What Does Science Say About Maryland Rep. Andy Harris’s Opposition to Natural Psychedelics?
  • Andy Harris planned on stopping the Washington DC measure to decriminalize nature but that didn’t go through
  • This article dissects the (false) claims made (they aren’t potent nor very dangerous)
• The Growing Evidence for Psilocybin-Facilitated Smoking Cessation
  • Comments on the 2014 research into smoking cessation with psilocybin and CBT
  • And the current trial (80 participants, control group) that shows a 59% cessation rate at 12-months
  • Which is better than any other intervention and significantly higher than those receiving CBT and nicotine patches (23%)
• LSD and Psilocybin May Alleviate Cluster Headaches
  • Cluster headaches affect 1 million in the US (or .3%, or extrapolated 23 million people worldwide)
  • A microdose may, in a fast as 20 minutes, alleviate cluster headaches for up to a few months
  • The possible mechanism through which they work may be the restriction of blood vessels through their action at the serotonin receptors
  • Currently, the research is ongoing (three trials) and in a year or two we may know more
• Get to Know the Beta Carbolines – Newcomers to the Science of Magic Mushrooms
  • Next to the well-known compounds of magic mushrooms, they also contain beta carbolines
  • These are alkaloids (organic compounds, MAO inhibitors in ayahuasca), specifically: cordysinis C & D, harmane, harmol, norhamane, perlolyrine
  • Although the article is new, it mirrors much what was already said in November 2019
• Study Finds Aeruginascin Metabolite 4-HO-TMT is Active at the Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor
  • From the original press release: “CaaMTech scientists have synthesized two important tryptamines for the very first time: Amphoria™ (4-HO-TMT), and Prophoria™ (4-AcO-TMT)“
• Using Zebrafish as an Experimental Model in Psychedelic Research
  • Zebrafish are surprisingly similar to humans in terms of major organs, tissues, and disease genetics

Corporate corner:

• CannaGlobal Welness forms through a merger, but the name will change over time
  • Lorne Gertner ‘godfather of cannabis’ will serve as chairman, Steve Sadoff as CEO
  • originated from a merger between CannaGlobal, Sansero Life Sciences, and Rise Wellness
  • $18 million to spend on pharmaceutical development
  • also reported in Report on Psychedelics
• Psilera Bioscience launches, a new drug discovery company
• Beckley Psytech launches with a €3.3 million series A funding
  • The Trip Report speculates that Tim Ferriss will be involved (in their LSD work)
• Therapsil, a Canadian non-profit, expands the scope from end-of-life anxiety to dosing doctors
• Business Trip is a new podcast about psychedelics
• Synthesis raises $2.75 million to develop end-to-end professional platform for psychedelic wellness & therapy
• David Nutt joins the board of AWAKN
• The incubator of Tabula Rasa announces the first batch that includes Luc van Poelje of Psychedelic Insights
• Mindset Pharma plans to go public
• ATAI Life Sciences has acquired a majority stake in Kures, a New York-based pharmaceutical company (opioids)
  • And has launched Viridia Life Sciences (novel DMT formulations)
• A profile on Eleusis by Lucid News
• Proposed Patent for Ketamine Treatment Challenged by Clinicians
  • on how a novel method may not be that new and a primer on patents
• Profitdelic: A New Psychedelic Conference Trend (Chacruna)
  • How the conferences on psychedelics may not reflect those of 10 years ago
• The Conscious Fund has launched (the first) job board of the psychedelics industry
• Why Are Psychedelics And Mining Companies Merging In Canada? (makes it easier to list on the stock exchange, RTO instead of IPO)

NGOs and advocacy:

• Drug Science launches the Medical Psychedelics Working Group (MPWG), a consortium of experts, academics, policy experts, etc. to help integrate psychedelics into (regular) healthcare
  • Also reported in Health Europa
• Decriminalize Nature DC has gathered enough signatures to have a vote (Initiative 81) on decriminalization on the November ballot
  • DoubleBlind does a deep dive with more info about the campaign
• Decriminalize Nature in Oakland is also pushing ahead with their plans
• MAPS is over half-way through the fundraising of the Capstone Challenge
• The Lundquist Institute, with Charles Grob as principal investigator, receives an anonymous donation of $1.75 million for end-of-life care research (with psilocybin, of course)
• But it’s still very difficult to do psychedelics research, as Zach Haigney attests in ‘The Bureaucratic Burden on Psychedelic Science‘
• Breaking: LSD Chemist William Leonard Pickard to be Released From Prison
  • After 20 years in prison, William Pickard will soon be released from prison
  • He is now 74 years of age and his health isn’t that good anymore
  • “The court concluded that the 20 years served are sufficient for meeting the goals of incapacitation, deterrence, retribution, and rehabilitation”
  • Also reported on Lucid News
  • Clyde Apperson will also be released

Book Releases:

• Ayahuasca Healing and Science, edited by Beatriz Labate and Clancy Cavnar
• Good Chemistry: The Science of Connection, from Soul to Psychedelics, by Julie Holland (who previously wrote the (clinical) book on Ecstasy)

Psychedelics in the news:

• The Guardian follows-up the op-ed by Robin Carhart-Harris with another positive article about magic mushrooms for soldiers and overcoming trauma
  • And with ‘Ease restrictions on medical psychedelics to aid research, experts say‘
  • The Telegraph also wrote about legalizing mushrooms.
• Scientific American reports on psychedelics and their future in psychiatry
• Tim Ferriss discusses how he looks at psychedelics and more about success and happiness
• American Adults Increase LSD Use By 56 Percent between 2015-2018
• Psychedelic drugs can greatly reduce psychiatric symptoms among special forces veterans, study finds
• Psilocybin & OCD: Can psychedelics treat obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Patents:

• http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2020/0199161.html David E. Nichols, Onyx

How to/guides:

• Microdosing In Psychedelic Integration: A Handguide
• From Hippies to Modern Psychotherapy, A Psychedelics Handbook for the Willful Skeptics by Derya Ozdemir of Interesting Engineering
• What It’s Like to Have Sex on Different Kinds of Psychedelics (a sort of of how-to)
• How LSD is Made (do not try this at home, see Pickard’s story above)