Policy
Alliance launches to advance psychedelic healthcare in Europe
The Psychedelic Access and Research European Alliance (PAREA) is aiming to advance dialogue around the implementation of psychedelic healthcare in Europe.

Published
1 year agoon

Psychedelic Health speaks to the founder of the Psychedelic Access and Research European Alliance (PAREA), Tadeusz Hawrot, about how the organisation aims to facilitate discussions around psychedelic healthcare in Europe.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) mental health disorders are one of the top public health challenges in Europe, affecting around 25 per cent of the population every year. However, only a small number of those receive treatment.
Of those who receive treatment, many are not responsive and others can spend months or years waiting for talking therapies, for example. There have also been no advancements in the treatment of mental health conditions since the advent of SSRIs – with the area crying out for innovation following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With increasing research demonstrating the potential efficacy of psychedelic medicines for the treatment of mental health conditions, addiction and neurological disorders, advancing this area of healthcare could be revolutionary.
Psilocybin and MDMA, for example, have both been granted US FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for clinical trials investigating their use for the treatment of depression and PTSD, respectively, in combination with psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Speaking to Psychedelic Health, founder of PAREA, Tadeusz Hawrot, highlights that there is currently a long way to go in Europe to improve mental healthcare and achieve the health-related UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
PAREA is aiming to help accommodate research advances in the area of psychedelic medicines and to accelerate the safe and responsible integration of psychedelic-assisted therapy into EU healthcare systems.
The coalition brings together 15 organisations in the fields of mental health, neurology and chronic pain, as well as neuropsychopharmacologists and cancer societies, psychedelic foundations and well as industry partners.

PAREA founder, Tadeusz Hawrot.
Hawrot commented: “There are massive unmet needs in the area of not just mental health conditions but in mental, neurological and substance use disorders.
“The issue is that, while there is a lot of research happening in Europe, and the UK is also leading away in terms of regulatory incentives, we don’t really see much happening at the level of the European institution as a regulator, as an institution.”
The coalition’s mission advocates the rational and ethically responsible integration of psychedelic-assisted therapies into European mainstream mental health services.
“When these treatments become available, we think that patients should have them covered within their existing healthcare framework,” said Hawrot. “So, they should become part of the standard armamentarium of different mental healthcare interventions where they live from a doctor, paid by health insurance.
“If this doesn’t happen, we might end up in a situation where people who are most in need will be left without access – people with lower incomes, from economically deprived communities, which already are disproportionately affected by poor mental health.
“We need to think in advance about these things.”
Hawrot emphasises that one of the objectives of the coalition is to work with policymakers to develop and preserve high-quality standards and rigorous training to ensure that participants are getting safe care. He also highlights that another major barrier to advancing psychedelic healthcare in Europe is the scheduling of psychedelic substances.
“There is an issue with research,” said Hawrot. “There is very little research at the moment, for example, in assisting people who are having difficult experiences for instance.
“We need more research for these treatments to be rescheduled – we want to make a case to EU policymakers that they should allocate funding to research in order to make bigger sample sizes and collect more data.”
The coalition has already begun developing relationships with EU policymakers and with members of the European Parliament, having attended a number of meetings and consultations focusing on mental healthcare.
To mark its launch, PAREA will be holding an online event on 23 June, 2022 which will feature talks from PAREA Chair, Professor David Nutt, EU policy maker, Dr Sara Cerdas (Member of the European Parliament), Former Director of the US National Institute of Mental Health, Professor Thomas Insel and others.
To register for the event please click here.
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Policy
Now is the time for psychedelic access, says campaigner

Published
1 week agoon
21st November 2023By
News Editor
Activists in Oakland recently filed a ballot put forward by Dave Hodges seeking to legalise safe and legal access to psychedelics for therapeutic uses.
In the face of critics, Hodges has said now is the time for safe access to psychedelics.
The Psychedelic Wellness & Healing Initiative would enable the sale, possession and use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes if passed. Psychedelics that would be allowed under the ballot include Psilocybin, MDMA, DMT, and Mescaline.
If passed, the initiative would give doctors and mental health specialists the right to recommend psychedelics to ease the debilitating symptoms of a range of problems, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, addiction, suicidality and traumatic brain injury (TBI), among others.
Hodges has said: “Now is the time for safe, controlled medical access for patients in need. The way to solve the problem is not by continuing to ignore it.”
Hodges’ solution is to create a structure for use that includes proper dosages and access to experts who can help users benefit from appropriate treatment.
The updated initiative language emphasises safety, and gives doctors and mental health specialists the right to recommend psychedelics to ease the debilitating symptoms of a range of conditions.
Research by the University of Michigan and Columbia University shows non-LSD hallucinogenic use on the rise and Hodges has stated that increase means that the initiative providing guidelines for use is needed more than ever.
Hodges said he hopes Californians will read the initiative, share their thoughts about it over the holiday week and offer feedback via the initiative website, PW4CA.com, by 27 November, 2023, the deadline for modifications.
“Now is the time to provide medical and therapeutic access to psychedelics,” Hodges said. “The way to do this is through the initiative.”
Policy
Transform Drugs releases groundbreaking book: How to regulate psychedelics

Published
2 weeks agoon
15th November 2023
UK charity Transform Drug Policy Foundation has published a new book ‘How to Regulate Psychedelics: A Practical Guide’ that sets out how psychedelics can be legalised and regulated for non-medical adult use.
While an increasing amount of research is pointing to the potentially beneficial effects of psychedelic treatment on mental health conditions, many people across the globe are using psychedelics outside of the clinical setting.
The book includes a set of proposals for post-prohibition policies, covering psychedelics including psilocybin, LSD, DMT and Mescaline.
Previously, Transform’s guides on regulating stimulants and cannabis have been used to advise governments around the world on drug policy. This book seeks to inform the debates on psychedelic drug reforms taking place across the world.
Co-author and Public Affairs and Policy Manager at Transform Drug Policy Foundation, Ester Kincová, stated: “Despite psychedelic drugs being illegal, their non-medical use within society has been steadily increasing.
“Punitive enforcement has not decreased use or eliminated supply, but it has made use more unsafe.
“Legalising and regulating psychedelics is a pragmatic move to reduce harm. This is no longer a theoretical debate, states in the US are already recognising the need and making moves to regulate for non-medical adult use.”
Scientific Chair of Drug Science, Professor David Nutt, added: “Once again Transform have come up with a well thought out and practical plan for the regulation of another group of currently illegal drugs – in this case psychedelics.
“Their ideas would be both easy to implement and to engage with and will, if adopted, radically enhance the safe use of these remarkable agents.”
Proposals for regulation
The book includes a four-tiered regulation model “that attempts to manage the variety of psychedelic preparations and the different ways in which they are used”.
These include:
- Private use, home cultivation, foraging and not-for-profit sharing.
- Membership-based non-for-profit associations for plant-based products.
- Licensed production and retail adaptable to different products and environments
- Regulated commercial guided or supervised use
Additionally, a decriminalisation model is proposed which suggests that possession for personal use should no longer be an offence of any kind or be subject to any sanctions; Drugs for personal use should not be confiscated; cultivation of small amounts of plant-based drugs for personal use should be decriminalised, among other suggestions.
The book also includes topics such as embedding social justice, equity and human rights into policy design, how to think about psychedelics regulation, why regulate psychedelics and why now, and psychedelics and the UN drug treaties.
To read the book, please visit transformdrugs.org/.
Policy
Oakland ballot seeks to legalise medical psychedelics

Published
1 month agoon
30th October 2023By
News Editor
Activists in Oakland have filed a ballot that seeks to legalise safe and legal access to psychedelics for therapeutic uses.
The Psychedelic Wellness & Healing Initiative would enable the sale, possession and use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes if passed. Psychedelics that would be allowed under the ballot include Psilocybin, MDMA, DMT, and Mescaline.
If passed, the initiative would give doctors and mental health specialists the right to recommend psychedelics to ease the debilitating symptoms of a range of problems, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, addiction, suicidality and traumatic brain injury (TBI), among others.
Additionally, it would create a statewide framework for regulating the possession, use, cultivation and production of substances for medical and therapeutic use.
The initiative has been introduced by proponent and founder of the Oakland-based Church of Ambrosia, Dave Hodges, to the California Attorney General’s office for the 2024 ballot, and will need 546,651 valid signatures to qualify.
The filing follows California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent veto of Senate Bill 58, the bill that sought to decriminalise the use of certain psychedelic drugs.
Hodges emphasised that SB58 would have been a step forward, but that it had major flaws concerning its lack of provisions to ensure access, public safety and quality control. That veto, Hodges said, compelled him to move quickly on the initiative filing.
When the California Attorney General certifies the initiative for circulation, backers will have about four and a half months to gather the required signatures for ballot placement.
Signature collecting will begin in early December.
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