Psilocybin and Animal Testing: Charting an End to the Use of Animals in Drug Development Research
Amanda Elyse
SSRN Electronic Journal 2026 preprint DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.6827918 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Context archaeology Animal welfare Drug development Animal testing Government linguistics Human research Hallucinogen Clinical trial Drug trial Drug approval Human use Research development Pharmacology |
| Key points | Argues that policymakers should prohibit animal use in psilocybin studies and use this as a model to reduce animal testing in drug development, citing the unreliability and distress of animal experiments and the availability of human-relevant alternatives. |
Abstract
Psilocybin is the primary psychoactive compound in “magic mushrooms”; it has been used by humans for millennia, it is in promising clinical trials with humans and used in legalized psilocybin-assisted therapy, and researchers use and are further developing human-based methods with cutting-edge technologies. However, researchers are still allowed to conduct unreliable and distressing psilocybin experiments on animals and receive government funding for them. Laws and policies fail to ensure reductions in animal use or improvements in animal welfare in testing, or the use of effective, human-relevant alternative methods. This Article argues that policymakers should address the evolving space around psilocybin research and prohibit animal use in psilocybin studies, as well as use this context as a trailblazer for changing laws and policies to reduce animal testing in research for drug development more broadly, for the benefit of both human health and animal welfare.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics | 2019 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psychedelics as Medicines: An Emerging New Paradigm General population | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Theorizing that Psychedelic Assisted Therapy May Play a Role in the Treatment of Trauma-Induced Personality Disorders. | 2024 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| What Geometric Visual Hallucinations Tell Us about the Visual Cortex | 2002 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psilocybin-assisted therapy of major depressive disorder using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a therapeutic frame | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |