Ep. 19: A New Era For Psychedelic Medicine | Professor David Nutt

For many decades psychedelic research has been prevented by drug laws and stigma. Thankfully research is now once again illuminating the potential benefits of psychedelics in the therapeutic setting. At the forefront of this research is Professor David Nutt, a neuropsychopharmacologist who has spent his career making the argument for a rational, evidence-based approach to drug policy and drug use. Since 2019 he’s also headed up the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London alongside Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris. This episode explores the latest research in the field of psychedelics as well as the historical war on drugs and the ongoing challenges that come with studying psychedelics.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why psychedelic research is so important 

• The War on Drugs as one of the worst examples of censorship of research in the history of science

• How current drug policy that does not reflect the truth about the majority of illegal drugs

• The societal impact of poorly informed drug policy

• The therapeutic potential for a range of psychedelics

• Psilocybin for the treatment of depression and end of life anxiety

• LSD, MDMA and ayahuasca (DMT)

• How psychedelics can expand our understanding of consciousness itself

• The evidence for microdosing 

• Medicinal cannabis

• The detrimental impact of alcohol on health

• And so much more… 

Connect with Professor David Nutt on Twitter @ProfDavidNutt and on The Drug Science Podcast. Find out more about Drug Science: www.drugscience.com.

I hope you enjoy this fascinating episode.

Lauren x