This episode features a panel that I moderated in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference 2019. It includes a great overview of psychedelic science, investing opportunities, anecdotal personal benefits, legal challenges, and much more. I think it’s one of the more comprehensive panels ever done on the subject. Here are the participants:
Matthew Johnson — Principal Investigator, Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Unit
Ayelet Waldman — Author, A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life
Robin Carhart-Harris — Head of Psychedelic Research, Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London
Christian Angermayer — Founder, Apeiron Investment Group and ATAI Life Sciences
Please enjoy!
You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, Castbox, or on your favorite podcast platform.
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Want to hear another podcast discussing psychedelics? — Listen to my conversation with James Fadiman, who has been called “America’s wisest and most respected authority on psychedelics and their use.” Stream below or right-click here to download.
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
- Connect with Matthew Johnson:
Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Unit | Twitter
- Connect with Ayelet Waldman:
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- Connect with Robin Carhart-Harris:
Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London | Twitter | Facebook
- Connect with Christian Angermayer:
Apeiron Investment Group | ATAI Life Sciences | Twitter
- Milken Institute
- Milken Institute’s Global Conference 2019
- Psychedelics: Mind-Enhancing Methods to Well-Being, Milken Institute
- A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life by Ayelet Waldman
- Here’s Why We Should Never Forget Katharine McCormick’s Special Role in the Birth Control Movement, History A2Z
- Human Hallucinogen Research: Guidelines for Safety, Journal of Psychopharmacology
- Psilocybin: An Overview, ScienceDirect
- Drug Scheduling, DEA
- The slides by Matthew Johnson can be found by clicking here.
- The Abuse Potential of Medical Psilocybin According to the 8 Factors of the Controlled Substances Act, Neuropharmacology
- Psilocybin Produces Substantial and Sustained Decreases in Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Life-Threatening Cancer: A Randomized Double-Blind Trial, Journal of Psychopharmacology
- The Heretic, The Morning News
- A New Chapter in the Science of Psychedelic Microdosing, The Atlantic
- How New Ketamine Drug Helps with Depression, Yale Medicine
- Pilot Study of the 5-HT2AR Agonist Psilocybin in the Treatment of Tobacco Addiction, Journal of Psychopharmacology
- Open Label Study, MedicineNet
- Chantix (Varenicline), RxList
- Study Design 101, Himmelfarb, Health Sciences Library
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), The Mayo Clinic
- A Case Against the Drug War, The Harvard Gazette
- Burning Man
- Ask the Doctor: What Is Hypomania? Harvard Medical School
- The Entropic Brain: A Theory of Conscious States Informed by Neuroimaging Research with Psychedelic Drugs, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
- What is Serotonin? Hormone Health Network
- Serotonin and Brain Function: A Tale of Two Receptors, Journal of Psychopharmacology
- History of Psychedelics: How the Mazatec Tribe Brought Entheogens to the World, Psychedelic Times
- Compass Pathways
- R-ketamine: A Rapid-Onset and Sustained Antidepressant Without Psychotomimetic Side Effects, Translational Psychiatry
- The FOMO Is Real: How Social Media Increases Depression and Loneliness, Healthline
- What is MDMA? NIH
- MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Study Protocols, MAPS
- Ibogaine Therapy for Drug Addiction, MAPS
- This Is How Ayahuasca Affects the Brain, Vice
- Meaning of a Bad Trip, Verywell Mind
- Syd’s First Trip: Home Footage of Pink Floyd Founder Syd Barrett’s First Experience with LSD, Happy Mag
- What Is Hallucinogen-Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD)? Medical News Today
- Opiate, Opioid, Narcotic — What’s the Difference? IWP
- Residential Psychedelic (LSD) Therapy for the Narcotic Addict, Archives Of General Psychiatry
- Psilocybin-Facilitated Treatment for Cocaine Use by Peter Hendricks, University of Alabama at Birmingham
- The Surprising Failures of 12 Steps, The Atlantic
- Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders (DSM), American Psychiatric Association
- Marcus Raichle on the Default Mode Network, VPRO Labyrint TV
- Six NASA Astronauts Describe the Moment in Space When “Everything Changed” Inverse
- Canyon Ranch
- Exploring the Potential Recreational Psilocybin Market, Psychedelic Science Review
- Calm
- Fear-Setting: The Most Valuable Exercise I Do Every Month, tim.blog
- Psilocybin-assisted Treatment for Alcohol Dependence: A Proof-of-Concept Study, Journal of Psychopharmacology
- Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss
SHOW NOTES
- An encouraging story about how well-funded research can change lives for the better. [03:25]
- Matthew Johnson stresses how understanding the downsides and risks of psychedelics is key to their responsible use in research. (The slides by Matthew Johnson can be found by clicking here.) [06:02]
- Matthew Johnson lays out the benefits, as we currently understand them, of psychedelics on mental health and addiction. [07:21]
- How did Ayelet Waldman begin her experiences with microdosing, and in what ways did the practice affect her depression and productivity? [12:17]
- Robin Carhart-Harris explains our current understanding of why these compounds do what they do — even beyond the duration of their physical presence — in what he describes as the entropic brain. [16:48]
- Christian Angermayer tells us why his biotech company, ATAI Life Sciences, is currently one of the largest global investors in bringing psychedelics — including psilocybin — back into the legal realm. [21:37]
- Treating PTSD with MDMA, how Ayelet and her husband use MDMA to process “the mundane PTSD of a long marriage,” and the risks involved. [28:16]
- Matthew speaks to the potential toxicity of some of these compounds. [31:41]
- Matthew takes us through current studies applying psychedelics to opiate and opioid addiction, and Ayelet weighs in on why traditional methods have not proven successful thus far, and why we need to reclassify some schedule one psychedelics to schedule four. [37:33]
- Robin explains the context-shifting power psychedelics have over certain diagnostic categories, the problem with diagnostic categories as they traditionally stand, and current thinking around the default mode network. [40:45]
- Why Christian believes psychedelics should be used in a strictly controlled environment by prescription rather than provided over the counter. [45:48]
- Ayelet’s ideal paradigm for psychedelic decriminalization: the psychedelic spa. [47:04]
- Christian points to The Netherlands as an example of a place where psychedelics are available recreationally, but not applied in a way that puts a dent in that country’s mental health crisis. [47:59]
- How does Christian envision a sustainable business model for single-dose psychedelic therapies? [48:39]
- How did these compounds come to be classified as schedule one drugs, and how can we potentially get them reclassified as schedule four drugs? Matthew has answers. [52:54]
- What would Ayelet hope this field looks like a few years from now? [59:16]