Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety.
J Psychopharmacol July 1, 2008 DOI: 10.1177/0269881108093587 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Hallucinogen research Human research Hallucinogens Clinical trials Compounds Scientific exploration Safety protocols Safety guidelines Established safety measures Critical steps Rigorous medical evaluations Rigorous psychological evaluations Controlled environments Trained staff Adherence Minimal risk Risk management Participant care Participant screening Dose administration Psychological support Participant experiences Positive experiences Safe experiences Participant well-being |
| Citations | 1,191 |
| Key findings | When conducted with proper safeguards, hallucinogen research poses minimal risk of persisting adverse reactions and may inform psychiatric treatment and basic science. |
Abstract
There has recently been a renewal of human research with classical hallucinogens (psychedelics). This paper first briefly discusses the unique history of human hallucinogen research, and then reviews the risks of hallucinogen administration and safeguards for minimizing these risks. Although hallucinogens are relatively safe physiologically and are not considered drugs of dependence, their administration involves unique psychological risks. The most likely risk is overwhelming distress during drug action ('bad trip'), which could lead to potentially dangerous behaviour such as leaving the study site. Less common are prolonged psychoses triggered by hallucinogens. Safeguards against these risks include the exclusion of volunteers with personal or family history of psychotic disorders or other severe psychiatric disorders, establishing trust and rapport between session monitors and volunteer before the session, careful volunteer preparation, a safe physical session environment and interpersonal support from at least two study monitors during the session. Investigators should probe for the relatively rare hallucinogen persisting perception disorder in follow-up contact. Persisting adverse reactions are rare when research is conducted along these guidelines. Incautious research may jeopardize participant safety and future research. However, carefully conducted research may inform the treatment of psychiatric disorders, and may lead to advances in basic science.