Who will staff the psychedelic resurgence?
Open Access Government April 9, 2024 DOI: 10.56367/oag-042-10690 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractFrance has joined the global revival of psychedelic research. In February 2024, a team at Le Grau-du-Roi Hospital began a clinical trial testing psilocybin for people with alcohol use disorder and depressive symptoms—the first such trial in France in 58 years. The author, historian Erika Dyck, notes that overturning decades of prohibition and regulatory barriers is a significant challenge, even as interest in psychedelic medicine expands worldwide.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | History Psychology |
| Key finding | France conducted its first psychedelic trial in 58 years, adding to a growing list of countries investing in psychedelic medicine, though overcoming long-standing regulations and attitudes remains difficult. |
Abstract
Who will staff the psychedelic resurgence? Erika Dyck, Professor and Canada Research Chair in History of Health & Social Justice from the University of Saskatchewan, provides an intriguing answer to this question. On 6th February 2024, a research team at Le Grau-du-Roi Hospital in the south of France, led by addictologist Amandine Luquiens, put their first subject through a clinical trial with psilocybin to investigate its therapeutic value for people with alcohol use disorder and depressive symptoms. This was the first psychedelic trial conducted in that country in 58 years, which now adds France to a growing list of places investing in psychedelic medicine after decades of prohibition. However, overturning half a century’s worth of regulations and attitudes is not trivial.