I. Glenn Cohen and Mason Marks, The American Journal of Bioethics Research on psychedelic medicines is experiencing a revival. Some clinicians, scientists, and ethicists believe that psychedelics are so different from other treatments that they warrant special consideration in how they are researched, regulated, commercialized, and administered. Others argue that psychedelic medicines show clinical potential,…
Focused Bodywork as Facilitated Communication: Cautionary Perspectives on Touch in Psychedelic Therapy
Neşe Devenot, The American Journal of Bioethics Project on Psychedelic Law and Regulation (POPLAR) affiliated researcher at the Petrie-Flom Center highlights ethical concerns about the practice of “focused bodywork” that was utilized in MDMA-assisted therapy clinical trials….
Psychedelics, Psychosocial Support, and Psychotherapy: Why It Matters for the Law, Ethics, and Business of Medical Psychedelic Use
I. Glenn Cohen, Fordham Law Review This Essay, Part of a Symposium on Drug Law for the 21st Century, proceeds as follow. Part I briefly describes how vociferous this debate has become among advocates for the medical use of psychedelics. Part II discusses why this choice matters, legally and ethically. This includes a discussion of…
Time to Abolish the DEA: Evaluating the Agency’s Failures and Calling for Community Investments
Ifetayo Harvey, Fordham Law Review This Essay calls for a reimagining of how the United States approaches drug policy, starting with the abolition of the DEA. In making the case for abolition, this Essay will proceed in three parts. First, Part I will provide a brief history of the DEA and its mandate as prescribed…
Intersections with Indigeneity in Psychedelic Buddhism
Colin Simonds, CSWR Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology This paper critically analyzes two approaches to Psychedelic Buddhism by Buddhist teachers Mike Crowley and Spring Washam and explores how these teachers think through, talk about, and engage with the Indigenous communities from which their practices originate….
Psychedelic therapies: healing for the wrong reasons?
Eduardo Schenberg, Christine Hauskeller, Claudia Gertraud Schwarz, and Franklin King IV, Nature Mental Health When critically examining the assertion that biomedical treatments work for the ‘right’ reasons compared with alternative approaches, philosopher of science Isabelle Stengers1 coined the phrase ‘healing for the wrong reasons’. Here, we discuss the cognitive dissonances and regulatory misalignments apparent in the…
State Drug Laws
Mason Marks, Fordham Law Review This Essay provides a typology of state drug laws comprising thirteen categories, including decriminalization, recriminalization, adult use, supported adult use, medical use, supported medical use, religious use, social consumption, safe consumption, clinical research, policy analysis, trigger laws, and food and agricultural laws. Several states have enacted hybrid legislation that blends…
Xochipilli: Psychedelic Plants, Song, and Ritual in Aztec Religion
Osiris González Romero, CSWR Theosis Xochipilli, a deity linked to songs, flowers, the rising sun, joy, games, and fertility, holds profound significance in Aztec religion. Historical sources characterize this deity as revered by nobles, elite principals, and guilds of artists, revered in both masculine and feminine forms. Yet Xochipilli is an understudied deity. This essay offers…
Psychedelic Therapy Scrutinized by FDA Advisory Committee?
Mason Marks, JAMA Network…
Developing an Ethics and Policy Framework for Psychedelic Clinical Care: A Consensus Statement
Amy L. McGuire, I. Glenn Cohen, Dominic Sisti, Mason Marks, et. al., JAMA Network As government agencies around the globe contemplate approval of the first psychedelic medicines, many questions remain about their ethical integration into mainstream medical practice. From June 9 to 12, 2023, 27 individuals representing the perspectives of clinicians, researchers, Indigenous groups, industry,…