Drug Science
@drugscience.bsky.social
Drug Science is the UK's leading independent scientific body on drugs - guiding evidence-based drug policy and drug research. Please donate to support our work. www.drugscience.org.uk
New podcast! Dr Andy Barker is a psychiatrist and medical cannabis prescriber, who joined us on the pod to give us a deep-dive in to cannabis prescription and share his thoughts on the controversy on medical cannabis in the UK right now. Listen now @ drugscience.org.uk/p...
Since 2024, we've been working with UCL to change our understanding of psychotherapy in MDMA-assisted therapy. In the latest update, we propose a new approach: to qualitatively assess MDMA using therapists as the subjects. Read the full paper: journals.plos.org/pl...
Protocol for a qualitative mechanistic study of MDMA with a sample of psychoanalytic psychotherapists: A phenomenological investigation | PLOS One
Introduction Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AP) is a potentially transformative intervention for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite encouraging Phase III trial results, the psychological mechanisms underpinning MDMA’s therapeutic effects remain insufficiently understood. Existing research on MDMA has emphasised neurobiological processes but has not adequately incorporated subjective, relational, and experiential processes that are likely to be central to optimising psychedelic-assisted treatments. In the absence of an established clinical psychological theory of MDMA-AP, qualitative approaches can support theory development to refine and optimise MDMA-AP, and identify cross-diagnostic change processes that may broaden its therapeutic scope. Materials and methods Approximately 25 experienced psychodynamically trained psychotherapists will receive two doses of MDMA (80–120 mg, oral), separated by ≥1 week, under controlled research conditions in an open-label, qualitative mechanistic study. Clinician-participants will complete baseline interviews examining beliefs and attitudes toward MDMA-AP, brief phenomenological interviews during MDMA sessions, in-depth phenomenological and theory-oriented follow-up interviews examining experience and understandings of MDMA-associated change processes, and daily reflective journals between dosing sessions. Additional standardised measures will assess reflective functioning and related constructs. Qualitative data will be analysed using phenomenological and thematic approaches, and grounded theory-inspired techniques will be used to develop a theoretically coherent model of MDMA’s psychological mechanisms of action grounded in the full dataset. Discussion In this study of MDMA’s potential mechanisms-of-action, we treat psychotherapists as expert observers of their own psychological processes. By examining first-hand experience in participants selected for their well-developed capacity for self-reflection, meta-awareness, and advanced theoretical and clinical frameworks for understanding mental phenomena, psychopathology, and psychological treatment, we anticipate generating novel insights into MDMA’s therapeutic mechanisms-of-action. The primary study output will be a theoretically grounded model of MDMA’s psychological mechanisms of action, intended to inform novel treatment models amenable to future experimental evaluation. The study also offers a transferable framework for qualitative mechanistic investigations of psychedelic compounds, supporting the development of integrative and evidence-based models of psychedelic therapy.
journals.plos.org
In the 1980's, Britain had a radical harm reduction programme to prevent HIV in drug users. Since then, we've had an HIV outbreak in 2015, and now the most drug-related deaths in Europe. What happened, and how can we put this right? Read now 👇 drugscience.org.uk/d...
10 countries, including Germany, the US and Canada, now allow psilocybin-assisted therapy for specific psychiatric conditions. How do the laws work, and what makes these places special? Our latest piece has the answers: 🔗 drugscience.org.uk/p...
Could psychedelics help you heal your marriage? 💗 This week, Sarah Tilley discuss her groundbreaking psilocybin-assisted couples therapy programme, which focusses on 'un-merging' the couple and helping them self-actualise as individuals. Listen now @ drugscience.org.uk/p...
10 countries, including the US, Canada and Germany, now allow psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy under specific circumstances. What circumstances? How do the laws work? And what makes these countries special? Our latest piece has the answers: 🔗 drugscience.org.uk/p...
A psychedelic trial is treating your anorexia... and then it ends. What do you do? In this case study, we learn about EB, an anorexia patient who found relief for the first time in a psilocybin trial, then went to court to continue. Read now 🔗 drugscience.org.uk/p...
Post-trial Psilocybin Access: Reflections on R (On the Application of EB)
EB has had anorexia nervosa since she was a teenager. It has shaped almost every aspect of her life: her energy, her concentration, her ability to work, to travel, to manage a routine. She has tried multiple treatments, but none of them has worked. Then, in 2022, she took part in a clinical trial investigating psilocybin as a potential treatment. For the first time, something helped. Then the trial ended, and she was left with no means of lawfully accessing the treatment.
drugscience.org.uk
An opportunity to get involved with psychedelic research, and help out our partners at UCL. Every participant counts! 🔗 tinyurl.com/pfs-stud...
Tickets still available to see @profdavidnutt and @profbriancox discussing addiction. David will be joining a live recording of A Question of Science at The Crick - and you can go along for FREE! Take a look 👀 lostintv.com/tv-show...
Lost in TV - A Question of Science with Brian Cox
Free tickets to your favourite television and radio shows from Lost in TV
lostintv.com
Why do so few mental health drugs actually work? 🧐 🧠 In a special new opinion piece, @profdavidnutt presents a radical take on what the pharma industry gets wrong in its search for new treatments. Check it out now 👇 drugscience.org.uk/w...
The UK needs to learn from this 🇬🇧👂🇨🇿 An expert psychiatrist breaks down the Czech Republic's groundbreaking psilocybin therapy regulations, covering who can get it, what for, and what the NHS desparately needs to learn. Check it out 👇 drugscience.org.uk/c...
Francis Crick is famous for discovering the double helix, but fewer know about his career in consciousness research. This week, Prof Matthew Cobb joins us on the podcast for a warm and meandering chat about this remarkable life and career. Listen now at drugscience.org.uk/p...
Ketamine treats depression faster than any other drug, and Norway is the first country to offer it to its citizens for free. In this piece, we break down the history of ketamine therapy, how it works, and what makes Norway special: drugscience.org.uk/n...
Norway Becomes the First Country to Publicly Fund Generic Ketamine for Depression
In the year 2000, psychiatry experienced one of the most important breakthroughs in decades: researchers showed that ketamine, a widely used anesthetic, could produce a powerful antidepressant effect within hours.
drugscience.org.uk
👁️ Want to learn more about 5-MEO-DMT? Join Dr Alan Davis and The Psychedelic Society for an in-depth exploration of this remarkable drug. 7-8.30 pm, Sun 31/05 💌 Free and discounted tickets available for all Drug Science community members! 🎟️🔗 dandelion.events/e/p...
New outdoor smoking bans would treat vapes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) equally to cigarettes. While we agree with making smoking harder and less visible, grouping safer alternatives with cigarettes is the wrong move. Our response 👉 drugscience.org.uk/v...
Vape and Tobacco Free Zones Consultation
The Department of Health and Social Care is correct that smoking is a uniquely harmful way of consuming nicotine and remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the UK. It is estimated that two in three long-term smokers will die as a result of their smoking (NHS, 2023).
drugscience.org.uk
Humans have been using alcohol for millennia. Is it time to update the recipe? This week on the podcast, David Orren joins Prof Jo Neill to discuss alcohol in society, the story of Gaba Labs and the challenges of taking on the alcohol industry. Out now on all platforms 🎧
Cocaethylene forms in the body when cocaine and alcohol are consumed together, and has its own unique effects distinct from those of either drug. New research from our journal looks at the connection between the molecule and cases of suicide. Read now: drugscience.org.uk/c...
Shared characteristics among those who co-ingest cocaine and alcohol prior to death by suicide: An examination of trends within the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality data
Whilst substance dependence is well-documented as a risk factor for suicide, less is understood about individuals who die by suicide following recreational polydrug use. Cocaethylene, a psychoactive metabolite produced by the co-ingestion of alcohol and cocaine, may be a cumulative risk factor for suicidality.
drugscience.org.uk
Until 2004, personal ideology predicted a person's views on cannabis better than whether they identified as Democrat or Republican. Now, cannabis attitudes are about ingroup v outgroup more than personal opinion. Read the full article 🔗 drugscience.org.uk/u...
Political ideology and party affiliation as determinants of attitudes toward legalization of Marijuana in the United States: Implications for policy conversations
Drawing on data gathered in the General Social Survey (GSS), this study examined the influence of political ideology, conceived as a measure of personal identity, and party affiliation, an indicator of group identity, on attitudes toward the legalization of marijuana in the United States.
drugscience.org.uk
We want new drug regulations to be informed by the data, but as medical cannabis advances across Europe, how do we make sure this actually happens? Drug Science's Dr Anne Katrin Schlag is leading a panel to discuss at Cannabis Europa London. Tickets at: cannabis-europa.com/
Want to practise PAT in New Zealand? This June, TheraPsil are launching their New Zealand-focused online training program , combining general training in psilocybin with NZ- and Māori-specific information and guidance. ⏬️Learn more and enrol now ⏬️ drugscience.org.uk/p...
Psychedelic Training in New Zealand
Delivered across two weekends, TheraPsil's Fundamentals of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy is a New Zealand-focused training for clinicians and professionals.
drugscience.org.uk
Have you bought your tickets yet to #ICPR 2026? Drug Science Community Members can receive 10% off - email community@drugscience.org.uk for your unique discount code! See you in Haarlem from June 4-6 ✨ icpr-conference.com/...
We're incredibly proud to announce Returning To Wholeness: a four-day psilocybin retreat for people living with or beyond cancer. 🗓️ 24–27 August 2026 📍De Hoorneboeg, Netherlands. 🌼 Free of charge to those who need Learn more and apply at: drugscience.org.uk/r...
Returning to Wholeness Retreat
Clinically informed and expertly facilitated, Returning to Wholeness is a free psilocybin retreat for people affected by cancer. Applications open for August 2026, Netherlands.
drugscience.org.uk
Healthcare professional interested in working with psychedelics? PsyEdu's excellent part-time Professional Certificate in Psychedelic Practice programme is running again in 26/27. Sign up for the online open evening on 13th May to learn more 🔗⬇️ eventbrite.co.uk/e/p...
PsyEdu Open Evening. May 26 Tickets, Wednesday, May 13 • 6 PM - 7:30 PM UTC | Eventbrite
Eventbrite - PsyEdu presents PsyEdu Open Evening. May 26 - Wednesday, May 13, 2026 - Find event and ticket information.
eventbrite.co.uk
Trump's executive order is designed to accelerate late-stage research into psychedelic therapies. In our latest blog post, we break down what this means, who's affected, and why ibogaine is getting so much attention. Check out the full article now 👇 drugscience.org.uk/t...
A Review of Trump’s Recent Psychedelic Executive Order
drugscience.org.uk
Happy 4/20! The last year has seen some big developments in the cannabis space, and we've been keeping track. Here are our favourite papers and blog posts we've published since this time in 2025...
What if Freud’s theories of dreams contain more truth than once thought? Neuroscientist Mark Solms joined David Nutt to discuss how his groundbreaking research on dreaming led him to pioneer the use of psychoanalysis in modern neuroscience. drugscience.org.uk/p...
"The decades-long war on drugs has failed. The evidence is clear: a more compassionate, health-first approach to drug policy that decriminalises use and possession and supports those formerly marginalised by criminalisation has myriad benefits." thelancet.com/journa...
Just a moment...
thelancet.com
Curious about the UK's police-led drug diversion? Don't miss this full-day event - important for anyone interested in more effective ways of dealing with drug-related offending. Sheffield, 18/6 🎟️ onlineshop.shef.ac.u...
National Symposium on Police-led Drug Diversion | University of Sheffield
This full-day national event is hosted jointly by the University of Sheffield (Centre for Criminological Research), the National Police Chiefs Council, and
onlineshop.shef.ac.uk
How did psychedelics end up in the most restrictive category of international control? 📖 Archival records tracing the origins of the 1971 Convention reveal a process shaped not just by science, but by politics, media narratives, and Cold War tensions. drugscience.org.uk/h...
How Psychedelics Came to Be Placed Under the Strictest International Control
Drawing on archival research from the UN, Sweden, and the United States, a recent publication traces how psychedelics were swept into the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances through moral panic, Cold War politics, and the absence of any powerful lobby to defend them.
drugscience.org.uk
Join us as we peek into the mind of Harriet de Wit, a leading expert in MDMA pharmacology. From early research on animal models of self-administration to landmark MDMA & LSD trials, she shares key findings from across her career🗨️🔬 drugscience.org.uk/p...