Psyched: Fed Guidelines And Research Production Quotas, Protests In Canada, Cal's Decrim Project

Psychedelic Research & Fed Funding By The National Institute Of Mental Health

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) named the types of psychedelics studies to which it would grant funds and further guidance for pre-clinical research and studies with young participants.

NIMH’s notice of information states that psychedelics’ hallucinogenic effects, their role in the whole psychotherapeutic process, and “the poor predictive validity of current animal models in drug development for mental illness” are all “critical factors that warrant careful consideration of the types of research questions that can be addressed using animal systems.”

In direct relation to this, the agency stated its intention to detail what would be a “reasonable premise” for the advancement of mechanistic psychedelics research and guidelines for “reproducible and rigorous” clinical research and further gave examples of low-priority research objectives.

Continue reading HERE.

DEA Announces How Much Marijuana, MDMA, Psilocyn, LSD, Mescaline, 5-MeO-DMT, MDA, 2-CB Can Be Produced For Research In 2023

The DEA shared its final production quotas for research drugs for 2023 and will further manufacturing goals of several psychedelic compounds than the already substantial increases regarding 2022 initially proposed.

The compounds include marijuana, MDMA, psilocyn, LSD, mescaline, 5-MeO-DMT, MDA, and 2-CB. 

The agency stated that it is “committed to ensuring an adequate and uninterrupted supply of controlled substances in order to meet the estimated legitimate medical, scientific, research, and industrial needs of the U.S., for lawful export requirements, and for the establishment and maintenance of reserve stocks.”

Continue reading HERE.

Canada: Psychedelics Delegation Will Confront Federal Health Ministers, Toronto Magic Mushrooms Shop

British Columbia-based non-profit TheraPsil and a group of patients and medical professionals from across Canada are headed to Ottawa to demand from top health officials better access to medical psilocybin.

Current legal pathways to psychedelics are proving to be insufficient, as dying and severely in-need patients have been waiting for over a year for their exemption application reply, or have been called to try electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as treatment. 

Determined to discuss the “desperate need” for medical regulations with ministers Jean-Yves Duclos and Carolyn Bennett, the group sent a letter to federal health officials with the following statement: “Those of us who have tried medical psilocybin know that it is a life-affirming medicine and has improved the length and quality of our lives.” 

TheraPsil’s CEO Spencer Hawkswell noted that, as of March, Canadians with a mental illness will be able to request medical assistance in dying through a program called MAiD, yet their access to psilocybin would still be denied.

If the situation does not change, it will soon be “significantly easier for patients to access a drug that stops their heart instead of psilocybin,” he said.

Learn about the delegation’s next steps, what the Senate’s Subcommittee on Veteran Affairs is saying, and Toronto’s new magic mushrooms shop HERE.

Psychedelics Decriminalization Project In Berkeley, Cal Including Synthetic Substances Moves To City Council’s Desk

The Berkeley Community Health Commission (CHC) unanimously decided to move a recently rewritten local psychedelics decriminalization project to the city council, and now it is up for the local government to consider the proposal, which includes not only natural entheogenic substances but also the synthetic hallucinogen LSD.

According to Berkeley community health commissioners Joseph Holcomb Adams and Karma Smart, the reason why LSD is included in the list of decriminalized substances is that it meets the technical definition of what a psychedelic is.

The new proposal drafters said they are grouping the compounds “based on shared pharmacology and effects.” The list of these “classic psychedelics” includes magic mushrooms, mescaline, LSD, DMT and ayahuasca, but leaves out, for instance, ibogaine, as it works on a different brain receptor.

Peyote was also excluded, following an exemption request by the National Council of Native American Churches (NACNA) in order to ensure the cactus’ preservation. 

As this second part opposes the original proposal by Decriminalize Nature, which decriminalized possession and deprioritized cultivation, use, sharing, purchasing, transporting or distributing natural substances, the nonprofit is against the upcoming psychedelics reform and hopes the city council will reconsider the original project.

Learn more on the new project HERE.

The Milestone Round

Each week, we learn about new clinical trials, the creation of psychedelic-based compounds and novel potential treatments for those suffering from mental and physical health conditions.

Psychedelics companies keep reporting their financial results, as Numinus Wellness NUMIF, PsyBio Therapeutics PSYBF, Braxia Scientific BRAXF, and Adastra Holdings Ltd XTXXF did this week.

Some business moves included Irwin Naturals IWINF’ acquisition of Kentucky-based Serenity Health, LLC ketamine clinic, Awakn AWKNF’s plans to provide psychedelic-assisted therapy services in a second Norwegian city, Filament Health FLHLF’s two new US patents for natural psilocybin extraction and standardization, and Nova Mentis NMLSF and Wellbeing KONEF’s joint venture towards a Phase 2 trial testing psilocybin for FXS symptoms.

As for research, an Australian study showed ayahuasca’s benefits outweigh existing risks -something Miley Cyrus apparently knows about. Also in Australia, Imperial College London professor David Nutt spent a week meeting with federal authorities and advocating for legal access to psychedelic-assisted therapies.

The weekly color note was provided by MAPS, which shared a detailed speakers and activities list of its upcoming Psychedelic Science major event in 2023.

Psychedelics EFTs Weekly Performance

This is how the sector’s major EFTs performed in the week spanning Nov. 28 to Dec. 2.

• AdvisorShares Psychedelics PSIL opened Monday, Nov. 28 at $2.26, steadily after prior week’s opening at $2.25. After the week’s lowest at $2.25 on Tuesday, Nov. 29, numbers rose and closed at highest $2.42 on Friday, Dec. 2, higher than prior week’s closing at $2.35.

The Elemental Advisors PSYK EFT PSYK opened Monday, Nov. 28 at $17.95, a slight increase considering prior week’s opening at $17.62. That number went upwards and closed Friday, Dec. 2 at $19.15, a considerable jump from prior week’s closing and November’s highest value at $18.22.
For this EFT, the yearly price range is set between $23.32 and $16.71.