Will psychedelics go corporate like cannabis?
*The closer you were to the recycling bin, the better your odds. This is what privilege looks like. Did you notice how the only ones who complained about fairness were in the back of the room?
…for many of the researchers and psychotherapists who pioneered the early psychedelic treatments of the 1960s, it signaled something else: that psychedelics, like cannabis, might soon become threatened by capitalist forces that prioritize profiteering over healing.
Soon after the announcement that Peter Thiel—among billionaire ex-hedge fund manager Michael Novogratz and film producer Sam Engelbardt—would be funding the psychedelic trials headed by UK-based company Compass Pathways, a small group of longtime psychedelic researchers began to talk amongst themselves about what they could do, if anything, to ensure that psychedelic medicine becomes accessible rather than commandeered by one company controlling the market for profit. After months of debate, they put out a public statement earlier this month—publicized by psychedelic site Chacruna—on their joint commitment to prioritizing the “common good.” It’s signed by nearly all the luminaries, living today, responsible for the psychedelic drug research movement. Ram Dass, Dennis McKenna, Amanda Feilding, James Fadiman, Rick Doblin, Bill Richards…these are names you might not know, but they, among many others on the statement, have fought for decades to reshape the way our society understands psychedelic drugs and, in turn, wellness. “The statement was inspired by generations of researchers and practitioners who’ve shared their wonderful discoveries and know-how freely,” said Robert Jesse, a longtime psychedelic advocate and investigator on Johns Hopkins psilocybin trials. “Now, new entities, standing on the shoulders of those giants, are coming into the field. We’re at a choice point. Will the field grow with the ethos of open sharing? Or will it become clogged by proprietary methods, restrictive licensing, exclusive contracts, patents, and the like?” Compass said in a statement sent to Herb that it will make all its data available to the research community “as soon as possible after study completion.” The statement also said that the company is currently supporting outside research by providing their GMP psilocybin to scientists at below cost, and has developed a program with the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Europe’s leading scientific association of neuroscientists, in which its members can receive their psilocybin for free. “We do not want pricing or intellectual property rights to stand in the way of scientific research or patient access to care,” read the company’s statement. [Compass has not become a signatory of the Statement on Open Science for Psychedelic Medicines and Practices as of 4/30/2018]
*ECfES.org is a Signatory of the Statement on Open Science for Psychedelic Medicines and Practices, which can be found HERE and HERE.
*Additionally, ECfES Founder/Director James J. , Chairman of the Board Dr. Vip Short, and Board Advisor Alan Cohn, MD are each individual signatories of the Statement on Open Science for Psychedelic Medicines and Practices, which can be found HERE and HERE.
Original Article (Herb.co):
Will psychedelics go corporate like cannabis?
Artwork Fair Use: Nathan Pyle
