Psychedelics are generally safe drugs: The “classic” psychedelics, like psilocybin or LSD, have been shown to be low risk for addiction, and despite there being some physical concerns, like effects on the heart that should be screened for, users are typically not at risk for serious reactions like overdoses.
But rather than taking that knowledge and promising that there will be no negative outcomes, no ethical transgressions, adverse events, or disappointments, it’s time to start accepting that those things will certainly occur, and setting up frameworks to deal with them. These would include pathways for accountability and reporting harms, as well as dedicating research to study negative outcomes, and how best to help people who experience them.
“Now is not the time to pretend that these things don’t happen,” said Max Wolff, the head of psychotherapy training and research at the MIND Foundation, a European psychedelics non-profit.
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“Not talking about possible negative effects isn’t helping anyone. If we want to make these treatments available, if we want them to have a positive impact overall on individuals and society, we have to acknowledge that sometimes people get worse.”
