Racial Disparities in Access to Psychedelic Treatments and Inclusion in Research Trials

Psychedelic-assisted therapy research is growing, but racial and ethnic minority groups remain underrepresented in clinical trials. This article traces the history of psychedelics and their recent resurgence, explains how psychedelic medicine has been racialized, and documents current inequities in the field. It proposes an antiracism framework to decolonize psychedelic research by dismantling White power structures and returning authority to Indigenous cultures. The authors argue that the psychedelic movement has a rare opportunity to improve inclusion and show how to achieve it.

Study at a glance

Abstract

As psychedelic-assisted therapy research and clinical trials continue to grow, there is a positive outlook on the future, but also concerns about who will benefit. Most research shows that there is an obvious deficit of racial and ethnically minoritized populations, defined within the article, enrolling in studies. The objectives of this paper are (1) to provide a history of psychedelics and its resurgence over the last two decades; (2) to present an understanding of the racialization of psychedelics in the treatment of psychiatric disorders; (3) to showcase the current inequity of psychedelic medicine; and (4) to operationalize an antiracism framework for racial equity to decolonize psychedelic research, or remove the historically pervasive White power dynamic in hopes of shifting power back to the originating indigenous cultures. The psychedelic movement is in a rare place to optimize inclusion and this article aims to demonstrate how. [ Psychiatr Ann. 2022;52(12):494–499.]