Something strange happened yesterday. Psychedelics unicorn Compass Pathways released data for the largest clinical trial ever conducted of a psilocybin drug. Not only did the drug seem to work, but the heavily anticipated data were “breathtaking” in the words of Compass’ CEO. Immediately, the company’s publicly traded shares dropped 16%. Including the day prior, it
Public and scientific interest in psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA is expanding. Once off-limits because of federal prohibition, a trickle of research from the 1990s has grown into a stream. But despite increasing acceptance by the public, and commercial investment in psychedelic therapies, aging federal laws stem the flow of vital research. Psilocybin, a
We’ve been writing about psychedelics on this blog now for three years. I believe the first article I wrote covered Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Compass Pathway’s drug trial for COMP360, a psilocybin formulation that eventually was patented. Since that time, a LOT has happened in the space, and we have seen all
Yesterday, on June 30, the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School announced the launch of a three-year research initiative, the Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation (POPLAR). The initiative will be led by Harris Sliwoski attorney Mason Marks, who also serves on the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board. As we’ve covered extensively on this blog, the
Excitement abounds about the status of MDMA, otherwise known as Ecstasy. And for good reason. As noted last month in the New York Times: …those who received MDMA during therapy [in clinical trials] experienced a significantly greater reduction in the severity of their symptoms compared with those who received therapy and an inactive placebo. Two
Efforts by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) to legalize prescription MDMA (Ecstasy) appear to have passed a gigantic hurdle earlier this month: MDMA is on track to meet the testing requirements to be a legalized prescription drug, specifically intended to treat the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After analyzing the preliminary results
On February 17, 2021, California Senator Scott Wiener introduced SB-519, a bill that if passed, would decriminalize a host of both natural and synthetic psychedelic drugs. In this post, I’ll unpack what the law would do in its current form. Before I get into the specifics of the bill, there are three things that are
I was talking to another lawyer about last week’s vote by Oregonians to legalize psilocybin therapy here in the state. We discussed how licensed facilities won’t be up and running for a few more years, and how, in the meantime, people will have to make do with general decriminalization under Measure 109 and maybe, in
Last week, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies (MAPS) made a very big announcement: it had raised $30 million to complete its promising study of MDMA (ecstasy; molly) for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already has granted MAPS “breakthrough therapy” approval based on earlier trials. With its recent cash
Q: I want to study schedule I controlled substances. I want to study marijuana (cannabis), peyote, MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca/DMT and ibogaine, to start. A: All of that is possible, but you should choose just one. Q: OK, I want to study cannabis. A: That’s actually one of the hardest. Please choose a better one.
