Preventing the Gaps in Psychedelic Research from Becoming Practice Pitfalls: A Translational Research Agenda.

Psychedelic medicines are returning as clinical treatments, but much remains unknown about their safe and effective use in patient populations. This article reviews the history of how psychedelics were originally outlawed and then outlines research questions that need to be answered to fill knowledge gaps and ensure that psychedelic-assisted therapy is deployed effectively, while noting that non-clinical stakeholders may have different interests from clinicians.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The reemergence of psychedelic medicines as clinical treatments has generated considerable interest in both professional and popular arenas. Although evidence is promising for psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), there is much that is not yet known and needs to be researched so as to understand how to safely and effectively utilize PAT in clinical populations and to most effectively deploy PAT to patients. In addition, non-clinical stakeholders introduce interests and agendas that may differ from those of clinicians. This article reviews the history of how psychedelics were initially outlawed and then introduces research questions that will help to fill these gaps in knowledge.