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Sharon L. Smith

7 papers in the library · 93 citations · publishing 2018-2025

Papers

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Psychedelic research - Going global.

Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) December 1, 2025 David J Heal, Sharon L. Smith, Jack E Henningfield 1 citation

"Psychedelic research - Going global" is a Special Issue of the Journal of Psychopharmacology that has been compiled and published as a tribute to Dr. Roland R Griffiths in recognition of his pioneering and pivotal contribution to the field of psychedelic research. Dr. Griffiths was Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and...

Mind the gap! Addressing unresolved aspects of abuse potential evaluation and scheduling of classic and novel psychedelic drugs

Journal of Psychopharmacology October 16, 2025 David J Heal, Jane Gosden, Sharon L. Smith 4 citations

Psychedelic research is progressing at breakneck speed and is creating new challenges for drug developers, regulatory authorities, and legislators. Most “classic” psychedelics undergoing clinical investigation are C-I controlled drugs with perceived high potential for abuse and no medical use. These and next-generation psychedelic drug-candidates require scientific and clinical assessment of...

A critical assessment of the abuse, dependence and associated safety risks of naturally occurring and synthetic cannabinoids.

Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024 David J Heal, Jane Gosden, Sharon L. Smith

Various countries and US States have legalized cannabis, and the use of the psychoactive1 and non-psychoactive cannabinoids is steadily increasing. In this review, we have collated evidence from published non-clinical and clinical sources to evaluate the abuse, dependence and associated safety risks of the individual cannabinoids present in cannabis. As context, we also evaluated various...

Psychedelics: Threshold of a Therapeutic Revolution

Neuropharmacology May 27, 2023 David J Heal, Sharon L. Smith, Sean J Belouin et al. 50 citations

This Special Issue of Neuropharmacology on psychedelics provides a timely and comprehensive update on progress following the previous Neuropharmacology Special Issue "Psychedelics: New Doors, Altered Perceptions". Remarkable advances have been made in basic and clinical research on psychedelics in the five years since 2018. It is partly based on the seminar series focused on psilocybin...

Psychedelic drug abuse potential assessment for new drug applications and controlled substance scheduling: A United States perspective

Journal of Psychopharmacology 2023 Jack E Henningfield, Judy Ashworth, David J Heal et al. 13 citations

Background: Psychedelics are an increasingly active area of research and pharmaceutical development. This includes abuse potential assessment to better understand their pharmacological mechanisms and effects and guide controlled substance regulation. Psychedelics pose challenges to abuse assessments to ensure valid, reliable, and generalizable outcomes and safe study conduct. Findings: Key...

Experimental strategies to discover and develop the next generation of psychedelics and entactogens as medicines

Neuropharmacology December 15, 2022 David J Heal, Jane Gosden, Sharon L. Smith et al. 18 citations

Research on classical psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD and DMT) and entactogen, MDMA, has produced a renaissance in the search for more effective drugs to treat psychiatric, neurological and various peripheral disorders. Psychedelics and entactogens act though interaction with 5-HT2A and other serotonergic receptors and/or monoamine reuptake transporters. 5-HT, which serves as a neurotransmitter...