Johns Hopkins University’s new congressional briefings series chapter, “What’s next for psychedelics,” covered a wide range of topics including clinical research specificities, therapists' training, policy hurdles, potential economic impact and necessary safeguards.
The session was led by Frederick Barrett, Sandeep Nayak (both, JH School of Medicine) and Matthew Eisenberg (JH Bloomberg School of Public Health) and moderated by Lainie Rutkow (vice provost for Interdisciplinary Initiatives.) More below.
Real-World Use And Risk Mitigation
Director of the university’s Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research (CPCR,) Barrett told attendees that in addition to conducting prominent research since the early 2000s, the center focuses on understanding psychedelics’ risks and their potential mitigation -both within controlled clinical settings and out in the world.
Despite existing research hurdles, Barrett believes the U.S. regulatory landscape holds numerous “good aspects and features,” and although very restrictive and not perfect, all work toward safety.
“I think we need to acknowledge that, and also be careful not to dismantle any kind of regulatory structures that would lead to increased harm. That's really the bottom line.”
Referring to the recently filed bipartisan and bicameral proposal for Schedule 1 drugs holding FDA’s Breakthrough Therapy designation to be automatically moved to Schedule 2, he says the rationale behind it is that Schedule 1 drugs are by definition toxic, addictive and have no known medical use, while …