This is a reposted article from the AAAS News, written by Andrea Korte; read the original here.

Psychedelic medicines may be on the cusp of wider adoption for therapeutic use – but any path forward should account for, listen to and support traditional practitioners of psychedelics, according to the panelists at an event hosted by AAAS’ Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion (DoSER) program.

The panelists spoke at a Dec. 11, 2024, virtual event, the most recent installment of DoSER’s annual December Dialogues, which hosts conversations on a subject at the intersection of science, religion and society. The event, “Perspectives on Psychedelics: Past, Present, and Future,” supported a discussion featuring three diverse voices: an Indigenous attorney at the forefront of psychedelics law, a psychiatrist whose research focuses on psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, and an interfaith chaplain who has supported hundreds through psychedelic experiences and trained other psychedelic facilitators.

Even the definition of psychedelics — substances such as LSD, ketamine and psilocybin (a compound from certain kinds of mushrooms) that alter perceptions, thoughts or feelings – can be interrogated, panelists noted.

“I still really grapple with the term ‘psychedelics’ and even ‘drug,’” said Ariel Clark, an Odawa Anishinaabe attorney whose work has focused on ensuring that cannabis and other plant medicines and psychedelics can facilitate healing and minimize harm to Indigenous communities. Clark does not see psychedelics as “drugs” – focusing instead on the sacred nature of the substances.

A Mainstream Path Forward

While psychedelics have a long history of spiritual use, particularly among Indigenous communities, the definition and role of psychedelics is a timely one for the medical establishment. In August 2024, an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval to use the drug MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder was rejected, with the FDA requesting a further clinical trial.

It’s also a relatively recent question for Western medicine, according to Jamila Hokanson, assistant professor at Yale University Department of Psychiatry, where she is the Director of Operations for both the Yale Program for Psychedelic Studies and the Yale Enact Research Group. There was no mention of psychedelics in her medical school education or her residency curriculum until she learned about therapeutic use of psychedelics as a psychiatry resident. She witnessed the transformation of a patient with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder upon receiving psilocybin, an experience that completely altered her professional path – she now leads and conducts clinical trials for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for obsession-compulsive disorder and major depression disorder, as well as ketamine combined with prolonged exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Although the MDMA application was rejected by the FDA, many in the psychedelics space are preparing for potential legal and regulatory changes and are trying to envision how to support such changes, said Moana Meadow, an interfaith chaplain and the staff director of the Psychedelic Facilitation Certificate Program at the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, where she has overseen curriculum development.

Among Indigenous communities, viewpoints on the future of psychedelics are varied, Clark noted. Some tribal leaders are talking about how to bring psychedelics into the community, while others find the broader conversation about legalization traumatizing, she said. Many Indigenous people report concern with the West “feeling that it has discovered something.”

“The level of irresponsibility that we see around these medicines in Western culture is pretty profound,” said Clark.

Facilitating Meaningful Experiences

Panelists identified another issue that presents both challenges and opportunities: a requirement that a facilitator must be licensed to administer psychedelics would create a bottleneck upon broader adoption of psychedelics for therapeutic use.

“As these medicines move toward legal applications, it will be very important to create guidelines for training and education that adequately prepare facilitators to support clients, participants and community members in the context that they’re working in,” said Meadow, adding that trainings must be widely available and must have pathways available for traditional practitioners to be able to take part.

Ensuring a path for a diversity of facilitators may help those taking psychedelics better engage with and process the spiritual aspect of psychedelics, panelists said.

Hokanson noted that many participants taking psychedelics as part of clinical trials are in a hospital setting – not a space particularly conducive to spiritual experiences, she said. Hokanson also noted that participants’ spiritual insights might challenge their therapists and doctors.

“I don’t think [the therapists and doctors] would know how to handle it honestly, unless they have a very strong religious background themselves,” she said.

Meadow noted that people who take psychedelics sometimes report talking to deceased relatives or reliving the experience of an ancestor. If the facilitator is, for instance, a member of the participant’s faith community or their longtime therapist, it would likely be very meaningful to share the experience, she said.

‘Let’s Slow Down and Listen’

Panelists agreed on the importance of including many voices in creating the future of psychedelics – and on the necessity of forums like DoSER’s December Dialogues in hosting meaningful conversations.

“My hope is that, as these medicines are able to gain traction, whether that’s through regulatory processes which are happening—they’re happening in the states, they’re happening in the cities—that more of those voices are able to come in – more different folks, different communities, different relationships with these medicines,” said Meadow, adding that she hopes people feel safe enough to share what psychedelics mean to them and how they are able to use them “with care and respect and sincerity.”

Said Clark, “Let’s slow down and listen to each other and allow something that is better than what we have seen emerge and really reflect the uniqueness of psychedelics coming into contact with Western culture.”