Click here to register for this Adam Smith Institute webinar.

Brits have faced months of isolation under lockdown and we’re only beginning to understand the consequences for not only our physical but also our mental health.

Even before Covid-19, an estimated 1.2 million of us were battling against treatment-resistant depression. There hasn’t been a breakthrough in depression research for decades. Outdated laws are holding back research into one of the most promising areas: psilocybin.

Psilocybin is the active ingredient in magic mushrooms and early phase trials suggest it could revolutionize how we treat many mental health conditions. But British scientists have to deal with unnecessary Home Office red tape. ‘Schedule 1’ regulations make it more expensive and time-consuming to research the compound. If we moved psilocybin into ‘Schedule 2’ - like medical cannabis - we could unleash the next wave of innovation in mental health treatment and improve the lives of millions.

The ASI and Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group recently released a major new report on the promise of psilocybin research. For this webinar, we’re thrilled to be joined by three of its co-authors to discuss the medical potential of psilocybin and the need to reduce restrictions on research and treatment.

Speakers:

Daniel Pryor (Head of Programmes, Adam Smith Institute) (Host)

Professor Joanna Neill (Professor of Psychopharmacology, University of Manchester)

Dr. James Rucker (Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist and Senior Clinical Lecturer, King’s College London)

David King (Director of Research, Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group)