The psychedelic science movement, while promising, reproduces the same social inequalities found in the broader healthcare system. Indigenous knowledge of plant medicines is being adapted into Western medical models that are resource-intensive and likely inaccessible to the socioeconomically disadvantaged. People of color and women are underrepresented in leadership roles, and few people of color participate in psychedelic studies. This piece introduces a special issue on diversity, equity, and accessibility in psychedelic medicine.
Combining psychedelic science, contemplative practices, and Indigenous and other traditional knowledge systems in integrative, community-based models of care could transform global health. Both contemplative practices and certain psychedelic substances reliably induce self-transcendent experiences that positively affect health, well-being, and prosocial behavior, and combining them appears synergistic. Traditional knowledge systems offer ethnobotanical expertise and time-tested practices. A decolonized agenda for psychedelic research requires collaborative engagement with traditional knowledge stewards to co-develop evidence-based integrative care accessible to their communities. Health systems could include Indigenous and traditional healers as stakeholders in designing, implementing, and evaluating community-based approaches for safely scaling psychedelic treatments.