Transcultural psychiatry
October 1, 2022
Phoebe Friesen
52 citations
In the mid-20th century, psychedelics and psychosis were studied together, with psychedelics used to model psychosis and phenomenological comparisons made between drug-induced and endogenous madness. After the 1960s moral panic halted psychedelic research, the two fields diverged. Today, psychedelic research measures experiences like mysticism and ego dissolution, values set and setting, and responds to crises with warmth and support. In contrast, psychosis research focuses on pathological symptoms, seeks universal causal explanations, and often responds with restraint and seclusion. The author argues these differences hold lessons for psychiatry but may dissolve as psychedelic research adapts to evidence-based medicine.
American Journal of Bioethics
May 2, 2024
Edward Jacobs, B. Earp, Paul S. Appelbaum et al.
29 citations
A workshop on psychedelic ethics, the first Hopkins-Oxford Psychedelic Ethics (HOPE) meeting, was held in August 2023 at the University of Oxford to address ethical issues surrounding psychedelics. The organizers (BDE, DBY, EJ) aimed to foster interdisciplinary discussion on topics such as informed consent, therapeutic use, and societal implications. The report outlines the workshop's structure, key themes, and proposed guidelines for ethical research and practice in the field.
Neuroethics
December 29, 2025
Phoebe Friesen
Psychedelic science is burdened by a history of colonial harms, participant abuse, and the violent War on Drugs, which continue to shape the field. These 'ghosts' include appropriation, biopiracy, ecological damage, unethical MK-Ultra experiments, and ongoing vulnerabilities in clinical trials, as well as over-policing that makes racialized communities feel unsafe. Moral repair demands acknowledgment, accountability, compensation, and listening, echoing reconciliation after human rights abuses. The manuscript questions whether reconciliation is possible or desirable, or whether remaining haunted is preferable.