Psychedelic Research At The Frontiers Of Prohibition: Moving Forwards

Author: Amanda Feilding

Abstract

In this paper I am going to share some reflections on the fields of psychedelic research and drug policy reform, and my involvement in these areas in the last decades. Among other themes, I will describe the changes produced in drug policy reform and psychedelic research in the last few years; the historical value and role of psychedelics on different transformational rituals throughout history; the roots of my lifetime interest in the physiological mechanisms underlying altered states of consciousness and the ego and the set up of the Beckley Foundation in 1998, with two main aims: to investigate consciousness and its changing states, and to reform global drug policy. I will also describe some of the findings of the Beckley/Imperial College Psychedelic Research Programme, and the current projects in which the Beckley Foundation is currently involved.