PSYCH NEWS - 14/07/2025

Positive developments in the UK this week as significant strides are made in the push to develop guidelines to standardise research practices for psychedelic trials. The surprising association of the conservative Trump government with the relaxation of the regulation of psychedelics continues as lawmakers back promising new MDMA and psilocybin therapies. Conversely, regulators in the U.S. continue their attempts to close legal loopholes around synthetic cannabinoids, as a result of the 2018 Farm Bill. New data from a phase 3 trial into psilocin for the treatment of depression is showing some cautiously optimistic results, while additional research into psilocin is even showing the potential to reverse the ageing process. Finally, stark contrasts in the business sector, as Compass Pathways stocks plummet, while Lykos Therapeutics successfully secured a further $50 million in funding.

A study, published in Nature, headed by researchers at the University of Exeter, McGill University, and Imperial College London, is pushing for a holistic approach to clinical research into psychedelics, which stresses the importance of the context of the experience.

This is an area we are, of course, extremely familiar with at Chemical Collective, as regular readers and fellow psychonauts, we hope you are equally familiar with what we know as “Set and Setting”. Integrating this into a clinical/research framework is long overdue, paramount to positive experiences and will go a long way to furthering psychedelics’ acceptance as potential therapeutic aids.

The combined team has developed what they have dubbed: ReSPCT (Reporting of Setting in Psychedelic Clinical Trials). The study aimed to:

Generate consensus-based guidelines for reporting settings in psychedelic clinical research… [because]  Psychedelic substances exhibit complex interactions with the ‘set and setting’ of use, that is, the mental state of the user and the environment in which a psychedelic experience takes place. Despite these contextual variables’ known importance, psychedelic research has lacked methodological rigor in reporting extra-pharmacological factors.

A total of 89 experts from 17 countries independently listed factors they considered important in psychedelic settings. The 770 responses were first refined into 49 distinct items. These were then given a rating – unimportant, important, very important, etc. These refined results were debated and further finalised into the 30 variables considered paramount to a successful experience.

I am aware this is a news article, and I know it’s a lot to take in, but I feel these considerations are worth including in full, all the same:

You can find a complete explanatory document from ReSPCT explaining these 30 factors in full HERE.

The U.S. Republican Party has long been a proponent of the disastrous “Just Say No”  movement, but recently its position appears to be evolving considerably. I would posit, perhaps cynically, that the motivation here is more a result of the arrival of capital to the sector, as a result of already thawing social attitudes, rather than a purely wellbeing-focused enterprise. Psychedelics are being pushed as potential mental health treatments, particularly for vulnerable groups like veterans. This has largely been brought about by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. His bullish proposals suggest psychedelic-assisted therapies with substances such as ibogaine and MDMA may be available within a year.

Whether or not this is advisable is debatable. With the recent FDA rejection of Lykos Therapeutics’ psychedelic-assisted PTSD therapy, there are definite, widespread concerns with standards and practices. Regardless, it appears Kennedy, alongside the Make America Healthy Again movement, is actively pushing this ahead. This is quite the cultural U-turn, and one of the more surprising developments of the populism at the heart of the Trump era.

Pretty much as soon as the 2018 Farm Bill legalised Hemp in the U.S., entrepreneurs predictably and immediately began pushing the envelope of this potential legal grey area. The 2018 Farm Bill permits:

the production of hemp in the United States, and no longer includes hemp as a controlled substance. Hemp with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level of 0.3% or less on a dry weight basis is [no longer] a controlled substance.

In June, potential language alterations to the bill were raised, which would ban hemp products containing any "quantifiable amounts" of THC, or any other cannabinoid with analogous effects. This would mean pretty much all hemp-based cannabinoid products on the market today could be banned. Even non-intoxicating CBD products would likely be affected by this, as they usually contain trace amounts of THC. While the bill may not be approved in its current format, it does signal the motivations of lawmakers to close this loophole, which will have a large impact and far-reaching implications for the industry as a whole. 

Though psychedelics’ seemingly inevitable push into the mainstream is continuing to pick up pace, 2025 has seen a significant downturn in funding in the sector. Investors are likely cautious due to continued regulatory uncertainty, and clinical results may be less positive than expected. Psychedelics as panacea and potential god-send are, of course, an attractive investment, but with actual results providing positive, but much less compelling data thus far, the market remains uncertain. Compass Pathways provides a stark example. See the change in their stock price over the last 5 years:

On June 23rd this year alone, its stock plummeted 49%, despite Phase-3 results of its latest psilocybin-assisted therapy study successfully hitting its targets. While the trial met its safety and efficacy requirements and Compass Pathways considered the results as both “highly statistically significant” and “clinically meaningful, investors remained unimpressed, which triggered a wider sell-off of psychedelics-related shares.

Bucking this trend, however, Lykos Therapeutics has successfully raised $50 million of additional investment led by billionaires Sir Christopher Hohn and Antonio Gracias. This represents the largest funding round for a psychedelic company in over a year. With the results of widespread trials soon due for release, analysts predict the next 12 months will be critical for the sector’s future success.

Most recreational drug use remains low in adolescents and has remained stable at low levels after a drastic drop during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, new data is showing a sharp rise in adult usage of both cannabis and psychedelics, particularly among U.S adults between 19-30.

The Monitoring the Future survey has reported that in 2023, 9% of adults aged 10-30 used hallucinogens in the past year, up from around 5% in 2017 and 3% in 2012. Cannabis use remained at historic highs, with 42% of 19 to 30-year-olds having consumed the drug in the past year.

While the continued rising usage among older populations reflects the growing cultural acceptance of these substances, and I would argue, recreational drug use as a whole, experts warn against potential risks, especially outside of controlled settings. Approximately 40% of users of hallucinogens reported experiencing a “bad trip”, more than likely a result of poor preparation, or poor care and attention to set and setting, and subsequent integration.

A Canadian study even found that individuals who had previously been admitted to ER as a result of psychedelic use were 3.5 times more likely to receive a schizophrenia diagnosis within 3 years.

Much of the limited harm-reduction frameworks we have in place the world over focus on adult treatment. The low rate of adolescent usage is encouraging, suggesting that shifting social norms may lower perceived risks over time anyway, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that education – information freely available and free of scaremongering – is the only way to improve the situation for the future.

A study published in NPJ Aging has revealed that psilocin, one of the main active ingredients of magic mushrooms, significantly increases the lifespan of human cells and improves the lifespan of mice. The findings were as follows:

• Lifespan extension in mice - A psilocin regimen increased the median survival rate of 19-month-old female mice (19 months chosen to emulate elderly, 60+, humans). The increase in the rate of survival was significant at around 30%.
• Improved physical condition in mice - Psilocin-treated mice improve physiologically with healthier fur, reduced greying and improved mobility.
• Lifespan extension of human cells - Psilocin treatment extended the growth lifespan of human skin and lung cells by 15-57%, depending on the dosage regimen.

David is one of our community bloggers here at Chemical Collective. If you’re interested in joining our blogging team and getting paid to write about subjects you’re passionate about, please reach out to Sam via email at [email protected]