Over the last few weeks, the federal government has taken a number of actions that signal a dark future for psychedelic therapies. Today we’ll take a quick look at what’s happened, and what may happen in the future. FDA gives thumbs down to MDMA Earlier in August, the FDA opted not to approve Lykos Therapeutics’ The post Updates on MDMA, Ketamine, and the Future of Psychedelic Therapies appeared first on Harris Sliwoski LLP ..read more

Happy 4th of July from all of us here at the Psychedelics Law Blog! We hope you have a fun, safe and not-too-hot holiday with family and friends. We will be back soon with our regular programming. The post Happy 4th of July! appeared first on Harris Sliwoski LLP ..read more

Oregon’s rule limiting the non-resident ownership of licensed psilocybin businesses sunsets on December 31, 2024. That’s a little over six months away. Six months is not that long, especially in the context of getting to know an industry or a business, and putting a thoughtful deal together– one that will generate reasonable returns for an investor without sinking the ship. For all you out-of-staters, now might be a good time to take a fresh look at Oregon. The Oregon psilocybin residency requirement The residency requirement is found in the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) administrative rules ..read more

A new age for psychedelics We are on the verge of a psychedelic renaissance, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepting a new drug application for midmafetamine (MDMA) in February of this year. MDMA the active ingredient in the common party drug “ecstasy” or “molly”. If approved, the drug would be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and in early results from clinical trials, it has shown some promise in treating the condition. The FDA has agreed to review a treatment protocol that would see MDMA used in a therapy assisted setting for treatment of the disorder, and t ..read more

Despite decades of stigma and legal barriers, recent years have brought a profound shift in attitudes towards psychedelics. Driven by scientific inquiry and a growing recognition of their potential therapeutic benefits, the benefits of psychedelics are being explored. In this blog post, we explore the impact of an unexpected catalyst driving progress in psychedelics research– the United States military. Breaking through stigma: psychedelic research resurgence For years, psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin languished under the shadow of stigma and legal restrictions. Scientific exploration and ..read more

Psilocybin’s therapeutic renaissance Once relegated to the realm of recreational drug use, psilocybin is now at the forefront of a discussion on the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. Arizona is the latest state to take up the discourse: its proposed Senate Bill 1570 (SB 1570) would establish licensed psychedelic-assisted therapy centers, and advance scientific research on the medicinal applications of psychedelic plants. SB 1570: Arizona’s legislative innovation Senate Bill 1570 was filed by a bipartisan group of Arizona lawmakers back in January. It would authorize the State Dep ..read more

Many people struggling with treatment-resistant depression, which does not respond to at least two types of treatment, are finally experiencing relief with intravenous ketamine therapy. Hundreds of ketamine clinics have been popping up across the country in recent years, and researchers claim infusing or injecting the drug has the potential to treat a wide range of conditions that have been difficult to manage in the past. The treatment is still relatively new, so the legal landscape surrounding it is continuously developing. If you’re considering opening a ketamine clinic, you may be wonderin ..read more

Should private equity be involved in health care? If so, in what types of settings? And to what extent? These are baseline considerations around a broad concept referred to as “corporate practice of medicine” (“CPOM”) that state legislatures, agencies, medical licensing boards, courts and attorneys general and grappled with for over a century. The Oregon legislature is taking a hard look at CPOM today, under proposed House Bill 4130. Why does this matter to readers of the Psychedelics Law Blog? If this new law passes, it could drastically change the landscape for ketamine clinics and their man ..read more

As most people know by now, ketamine clinics are prevalent in the United States. These clinics offer ketamine as a treatment for a variety of disorders, including pain relief, behavioral health disorders, opiate addiction, and many other ailments. Unfortunately, there are not many studies that demonstrate whether ketamine is efficacious for these various ailments because, to my knowledge, there are no randomized double-blinded clinical trials for off-label use of ketamine. Because ketamine is an FDA-approved drug, physicians and other appropriately trained healthcare providers can prescribe ke ..read more

California recently failed at least twice in passing sweeping statewide psychedelic decriminalization bills: a) SB-58, which Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed last year, and b) SB-519, which didn’t garner enough support in the assembly the year before. It’s now trying something much more modest – convening a workgroup to study psychedelic assisted therapy. The bill at issue is AB-941. Assembly Member Marie Waldron originally proposed the bill last year as a bill to authorize licensed counselors to administer psychedelic assisted therapy. However, the bill was nearly completely rewritten in early Ja ..read more