The Cambridge University Press published an update on the development of psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression.  

Because the evidence continues to suggest that single doses of psilocybin given with psychological support induce rapid improvement in depressive symptoms, the update was designed to provide psychiatrists information on what psilocybin therapy is, what it is not, and the current state of the evidence-base. It’s quite thorough, and you can read it in its entirety here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-bulletin/article/development-of-psilocybin-therapy-for-treatmentresistant-depression-an-update/7391E43A9FBF4AC31EFAF01C27DF73F0

The new Lucy Walker documentary, Of Night and Light: The Story of Iboga and Ibogaine was reviewed in Forbes. If you’re unfamiliar, Walker was the director and executive producer of How to Change Your Mind, the documentary series adapted from Michael Pollan’s bestseller about psychedelics. 

Her new Ibogaine documentary introduces audiences to lifelong ibogaine activists, Norma and Howard Lofsof, and shares the stories of a few people who underwent ibogaine treatment, including marine corp veterans, model Carré Otis, and writer-activist Patrick Kroupa who had been addicted to heroin for 14 years. You can check out the review here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lipiroy/2023/06/30/tribeca-film-about-ibogaine-a-revolutionary-treatment-for-addiction-and-ptsd/?sh=624ba4f2e142

The great Amanda Fielding was interviewed on the BBC about Australia’s new legislation that makes Australia the first country to classify psychedelics as medicine on a national level. Her commentary on this groundbreaking event is absolutely worth a listen. Here’s a link to the interview: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001ng45. You’ll have to fast forward to her interview, which begins at 21:00.

Did you know that in a survey of thousands of people who reported having experienced personal encounters with God, Johns Hopkins researchers found that more than two-thirds of self-identified atheists shed that label after their encounter, regardless of whether it was spontaneous or while taking a psychedelic.

People over the millennia have reported having deeply moving religious experiences either spontaneously or while under the influence of psychedelic substances such as psilocybin-containing mushrooms or the Amazonian brew ayahuasca, and a portion of those experiences have been encounters with what the person regards as “God” or “ultimate reality.” The findings in this survey are quite fascinating. You can check it out here: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/experiences-of-ultimate-reality-or-god-confer-lasting-benefits-to-mental-health