Signature gathering kicked off for the TREAT California Act, a ballot initiative that would spend $5 billion to create a state agency focused on advancing the research and development of psychedelic therapies.

The measure itself would not change the legal status of any substances. Rather, it would establish a state agency called the Treatment, Research, Education, Access and Therapies (TREAT) Institute, which would identify opportunities for advancing scientific research and developing the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. Activists are hoping to qualify the measure for the 2024 ballot. Here’s more: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/california-campaign-to-put-5-billion-towards-psychedelic-research-begins-gathering-signatures-for-ballot-measure/

Filament Health Corp. announced Health Canada approval for a phase 2 clinical trial at the University of British Columbia. The trial will study the effects of PEX010, Filament’s botanical psilocybin drug candidate, for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

Standard treatment for the disorder is opioid agonist therapy (OAT). But less than half of those who start OAT remain for 6 months, and approximately 1 in 10 patients receiving professional help due to an overdose were receiving OAT. There is a critical need for research into new interventions to support those with opioid use disorder, and research indicates that psychedelic-assisted therapy may be a promising approach. Check it out: https://www.filament.health/news/filament-health-announces-health-canada-authorization-for-phase-2-clinical-trial-studying-botanical-psilocybin-for-opioid-use-disorder

Biotech company Relmada Therapeutics announced that they will present new preclinical data on its novel psilocybin at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases next month.

The data demonstrates the beneficial effect of non-psychedelic/low-dose psilocybin on multiple metabolic parameters in a rodent model of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. Here’s more: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/relmada-therapeutics-to-present-new-preclinical-data-on-its-psilocybin-program-at-aasld-the-liver-meeting-2023-301953616.html

Did you know that a group of researchers analyzed Federico Fellini’s films to understand the effect LSD therapy had on his creativity?

Federico Fellini, one of the most influential and important film directors of the 20th century, used LSD when it was still legal under the guidance of his psychoanalyst during a phase of personal and creative crisis.

According to researchers, after the use of LSD, Fellini's films drastically changed and became more distinctive – so distinctive and original that an adjective was coined to describe them: felliniesque.

The world depicted in his post-LSD movies includes major changes in the perception of space and time. These changes become conspicuous mainly through the use of colors and sounds, which became perceptual epiphanies independent from “real” objects in the world.

You can read more about this fascinating research here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20503245231186723#bibr14-20503245231186723