The increasing acceptance of cannabis use, and policy changes in several jurisdictions has led researchers and public health experts to call for a standard cannabis dose. Standard dosing units are useful tools for regulation, substance use guidelines, data collection, consistency of research, as a means of communicating low-risk recommendations and dose-related effects, and for self-monitoring....
Repeated self-administration of small doses of psychedelics, known as microdosing, has been associated with perceived improvements in psychological functioning. However, few studies have examined effects at the daily level. Drawing on data from a naturalistic, prospective, international survey of adults who microdose (N = 1435), we assessed self-reported within-person changes between...
A core component in the provision and receipt of appropriate medical care is trust and communication between patients and physicians. The use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes (PTPs) has experienced growing attention in the past decade and may be an increasing topic of patient-physician interactions. The stigmatization of psychedelic use may complicate this process. However, patient...
This study explores therapists' perspectives on experiential learning, competencies, and training in ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT), a form of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT). We aim to understand how therapists' personal psychedelic experiences influence their self-perceived competency and therapeutic relationships regarding KAT. Licensed therapists from Numinus Wellness clinics in Canada...
Survivors of adverse childhood experience are at elevated risk for psychological distress. In recent years, renewed interest in psychedelic medicine has highlighted the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for those who have experienced childhood adversity. However, recreational psilocybin use remains illegal and access to approved therapies is difficult. Such use provides an opportunity to...
TrialsSeptember 9, 2023Zach Walsh, Ian Mitchell, Kim Crosby et al.
The last few decades have seen increasing interest in the use of cannabis for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recent attempts to evaluate the clinical efficacy of cannabis for PTSD were inconclusive and generalizability was limited by undesirable features of the study drug. The present clinical trial evaluated the effects of a commercially available chemovar that was delivered by...
In the last few years, ketamine is becoming increasingly common in the treatment of mental health conditions, but there is a lack of safety data informing intramuscular and sublingual dosing in a community-focused group psychotherapy setting. The Roots To Thrive ketamine-assisted therapy (RTT-KaT) program is a unique 12-week RTT-KaT program with 12 community of practice (a form of group...
Lab-based studies examining the effects of cannabis administration on human behavior compromise ecological validity due to the influence of set and setting. Contextual factors of clinical settings have long been recognized as producing measurable changes in physiology, emotionality, and cognition. Among people who use drugs, these settings may be associated with higher levels of perceived...
Authors and Affiliations Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada Joseph M. Rootman & Zach Walsh Quantified Citizen Technologies Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada Maggie Kiraga, Kalin Harvey & Eesmyal Santos-Brault Department of Family Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada Pamela Kryskow Fungi Perfecti, LLC, MycoMedica Life Sciences,...
Abstract Psilocybin microdosing involves repeated self-administration of mushrooms containing psilocybin at doses small enough to not impact regular functioning. Microdose practices are diverse and include combining psilocybin with substances such as lion’s mane mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus; HE) and niacin (vitamin-B3). Public uptake of microdosing has outpaced evidence, mandating further...
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Background In the past two decades, subanaesthetic doses of ketamine have been demonstrated to have rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, and accumulating research has demonstrated ketamine's therapeutic effects for a range of psychiatric conditions. Aims In light of these findings surrounding ketamine's psychotherapeutic potential, we systematically review the extant evidence on...
Abstract The use of psychedelic substances at sub-sensorium ‘ microdoses’, has gained popular academic interest for reported positive effects on wellness and cognition. The present study describes microdosing practices, motivations and mental health among a sample of self-selected microdosers ( n = 4050) and non-microdosers ( n = 4653) via a mobile application. Psilocybin was the most commonly...
The COVID-19 pandemic stands to have impacts on mental health and well-being that will extend beyond its formal resolution. Before COVID-19, mental health disorders were already challenging global healthcare systems, directly accounting for 7.4% of the total burden of disease (1, 2). An estimated 1 billion people worldwide suffer from a mental health disorder, with the two most common...
Posttraumatic stress disorder is a prevalent mental health condition with substantial impact on daily functioning that lacks sufficient treatment options. Here we evaluate six phase 2 trials in a pooled analysis to determine the study design for phase 3 trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. Six randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trials at five study sites were conducted...
Background/aims: Given high rates of depression and suicide among marginalized women, and increasing calls to integrate trauma-informed biomedical and community-led structural interventions, this study longitudinally examines the potential moderating effect of psychedelic use on the relationship between other illicit drug use and suicide risk. Methods: Data (2010–2017) were drawn from a...
This narrative review examines evidence related to the potential for third wave behaviour therapies to serve as adjuncts to psychedelic-assisted therapy. It identifies shared theoretical foundations for both approaches, and notes enhanced mindfulness, decentering, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance as common mechanisms of action. It also identifies potential targets for which both...
Background: Recent evidence suggests that psychedelic use predicts reduced perpetration of intimate partner violence among men involved in the criminal justice system. However, the extent to which this association generalizes to community samples has not been examined, and potential mechanisms underlying this association have not been directly explored. Aims: The present study examined the...
Criminal behavior exacts a large toll on society and is resistant to intervention. Some evidence suggests classic psychedelics may inhibit criminal behavior, but the extent of these effects has not been comprehensively explored. In this study, we tested the relationships of classic psychedelic use and psilocybin use per se with criminal behavior among over 480,000 United States adult...
Evidence suggests that hallucinogens may have therapeutic potential for addressing a variety of problem behaviors related to the externalizing spectrum of psychopathology, such as substance misuse and criminality. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent form of criminal violence that is related to externalizing pathology. However, the association between hallucinogen use and IPV has not...
Carolyn M. L. Crawford, Zach Walsh, W. Francois Louw et al.
Chronic pain is a prevalent and disabling condition, making access to safe and effective pain treatments a public health priority. Early but encouraging results have emerged from research investigating the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for people living with chronic pain (PLCP). This growing line of work urges an understanding of PLCP’s receptivity to this treatment. Aim. The primary aim...