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...
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...
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...
Neuropharmacology
November 2018
David J Heal, Jane Gosden, Sharon L. Smith
Psychedelics comprise drugs come from various pharmacological classes including 5-HT2A agonists, indirect 5-HT agonists, e.g., MDMA, NMDA antagonists and κ-opioid receptor agonists. There is resurgence in developing psychedelics to treat psychiatric disorders with high unmet clinical need. Many, but not all, psychedelics are schedule 1 controlled drugs (CDs), i.e., no approved medical use. For...