JME Practical Bioethics
July 1, 2026
Edward Jacobs, Edward Palmer, Celia J. A. Morgan
Some investigational compounds exist in both regulated clinical pipelines and unregulated street or online markets. Ketamine, psychedelics and cannabis are all under active clinical investigation while remaining accessible, in unregulated form, through illicit channels without clinician oversight. We propose the term parallel-access compounds for this category and argue that it deserves...
Accountability in research
May 1, 2026
Katherine Cheung, Rebecca Ehrenkranz, Brian D. Earp et al.
A number of proposals across different fields have suggested incorporating "independent" actors into the research process as a way to manage potential bias. For example, in response to allegations of bias in psychedelic science, some have suggested the idea of independent auditors for adverse events, as well as the incorporation of independent researchers into the research teams of psychedelic...
Acta Psychedelica
April 16, 2026
Bryony Insua‐summerhays, Edward Jacobs
Amidst a growing prevalence of adolescent mental ill-health, there is a pressing need to develop effective therapeutic interventions. Despite promising results from adult trials of psychedelic-assisted therapies (P-AT), translating these interventions to adolescents presents challenges. Therapeutic outcomes in paediatric contexts cannot be inferred from adult studies due to age-dependent...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
March 3, 2026
Edward Jacobs, Ian Roullier, Rosalind Watts et al.
As psychedelic treatments approach licensing with reduced clinical intensity, the psychological functions previously served by integration support are increasingly displaced onto patients' social environments. This Perspective argues that these environments are plausible but unmeasured moderators of outcome, and proposes three responses: structured psychoeducation for support networks,...
BMJ
February 23, 2026
Edward Jacobs, Zarmeen Zahid, Jared T. Hinkle et al.
5 citations
Over the past 15 years, psychedelic treatments have garnered substantial clinical interest, with psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) advancing to phase 3 trials for various psychiatric conditions. This state-of-the-art review examines the evidence for these treatments and their proposed mechanisms of action, and identifies key challenges in clinical translation. Psychedelic...
Philosophical Psychology
September 8, 2025
Mina Caraccio, Katherine Cheung, Sebastian Porsdam Mann et al.
3 citations
The current revival of interest in classic psychedelics and other psychoactives such as ketamine and MDMA, coupled with changes to their regulatory status in many jurisdictions, necessitates rigorous ethical guidelines both within and beyond clinical and scientific contexts. This paper examines crucial ethical, philosophical, and policy considerations needed to ensure psychedelic use across...
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
September 2, 2025
Khaleel Rajwani, Edward Jacobs, Lori Bruce et al.
6 citations
The potential use of psychedelic-assisted therapy for adolescents with mental illness has sparked both interest and concern. Modern psychedelic research has focused on adults, and adolescents younger than 18 years are typically excluded due to ethical and legal challenges. To explore whether adolescents have been included in 21st century psychedelic research, we conducted a scoping review of...
Wellcome Open Research
July 8, 2025
Khaleel Rajwani, Melanie Almonte, F. Feroz et al.
2 citations
Background Recent years have seen renewed clinical interest in the therapeutic potential of classical psychedelics, such as psilocybin, LSD, DMT, and mescaline. While modern studies have focused on adult populations, adolescents under 18 are routinely excluded due to regulatory, legal, and ethical challenges. Although there exists observational data and historical studies from 1959 to 1974...
Psychiatr Res Clin Pract
February 11, 2025
Jules Evans, Marc Aixalà, Brian T Anderson et al.
18 citations
Objective: This article outlines recommendations from 30 psychedelic researchers on how to create a better psychedelic safety net. Methods: A survey of 30 psychedelic researchers asked them to identify key critical research gaps around psychedelic harm and safety. Results: The critical research gaps identified by the authors included defining the main types of psychedelic harm, the predictors...
The American Journal of Bioethics
January 2, 2025
Bryony Insua‐summerhays, Edward Jacobs
3 citations
The role of touch in psychotherapy has been a topic of debate for several decades, now gaining renewed salience with the (re-)emergence of psychedelic-assisted therapy (P-AT), where altered states ...
International Review of Psychiatry
June 5, 2024
Katherine Cheung, Caleigh Propes, Edward Jacobs et al.
11 citations
A number of organizations have developed or are developing psychedelic integration groups, held in person or online. In parallel, there have been calls to make enhanced integration available in the community after clinical trials. Here, we explore a potential reason why individuals may seek out these groups: namely, the feelings of disconnection and loneliness that may arise after the...
American Journal of Bioethics
May 2, 2024
Edward Jacobs, Brian D. Earp, Paul S. Appelbaum et al.
29 citations
The first Hopkins-Oxford Psychedelic Ethics (HOPE) workshop convened to discuss ethical matters relating to psychedelics in August 2023 at the University of Oxford.The organizers (BDE, DBY, EJ) aim...
BMJ Open
March 1, 2024
Charlie Song-Smith, Edward Jacobs, James Rucker et al.
9 citations
Objective To capture UK medical students’ self-reported knowledge and harm assessment of psychedelics and to explore the factors associated with support for changing the legal status of psychedelics to facilitate further clinical research. Design Cross-sectional, anonymous online survey of UK medical students using a non-random sampling method. Setting UK medical schools recognised by the...
Neuroethics
November 6, 2023
Edward Jacobs, Ashleigh Murphy-Beiner, Ian Rouiller et al.
23 citations
Abstract The ethical value—and to some scholars, necessity—of providing trial patients with post-trial access (PTA) to an investigational drug has been subject to significant attention in the field of research ethics. Although no consensus has emerged, it seems clear that, in some trial contexts, various factors make PTA particularly appropriate. We outline the atypical aspects of psychedelic...
Frontiers in Psychology
May 26, 2023
Edward Jacobs
61 citations
Just as psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) represents a clinical innovation that may need to be accommodated with corresponding theoretical and methodological innovations, there is growing awareness that the tools, normative frameworks, and standard practices of our clinical ethics may also need to be adapted, renewed, or replaced to accommodate its unusual features. Drawing on L. A....
Drug Science Policy and Law
2022
Sam Gandy, Valerie Bonnelle, Edward Jacobs et al.
26 citations
Creativity, that is the creation of ideas or objects considered both novel and valuable, is among the most important and highly valued of human traits, and a fundamental aspect of the sciences. Dreams and hypnagogic states have been highly influential in promoting scientific creativity and insight, contributing to some important scientific breakthroughs. Phenomenologically, the latter states of...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
June 1, 2020
Edward Jacobs
12 citations
Abstract The recent revivification of interest in the therapeutic use of psychedelics has had a particular focus on mood disorders and addiction, although there is reason to think these drugs may be effective more widely. After outlining pertinent aspects of psilocybin and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the current review summarizes the evidence indicating that there may be a role for...