Who will staff the psychedelic resurgence?
Open Access Government April 9, 2024 DOI: 10.56367/oag-042-10690 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | People with alcohol use disorder and depressive symptoms |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Key points | Argues that France's first psychedelic trial in 58 years, testing psilocybin for alcohol use disorder and depressive symptoms, signals a shift toward reinvesting in psychedelic medicine despite the difficulty of overturning decades of prohibition. |
Abstract
Who will staff the psychedelic resurgence? Erika Dyck, Professor and Canada Research Chair in History of Health & Social Justice from the University of Saskatchewan, provides an intriguing answer to this question. On 6th February 2024, a research team at Le Grau-du-Roi Hospital in the south of France, led by addictologist Amandine Luquiens, put their first subject through a clinical trial with psilocybin to investigate its therapeutic value for people with alcohol use disorder and depressive symptoms. This was the first psychedelic trial conducted in that country in 58 years, which now adds France to a growing list of places investing in psychedelic medicine after decades of prohibition. However, overturning half a century’s worth of regulations and attitudes is not trivial.