We, the editors-in-chief, first met one another in person in the spring of 2015 at the board meeting of the Heffter Research Institute just outside of Madison, Wisconsin. One of us had just initiated a study of psilocybin in the treatment of cocaine use disorder and the other was deep into evaluating the anti-inflammatory properties of the phenethylamine DOI in an asthma model. Psychedelic medicine was, at the time, still very much on the outskirts of mainstream academia.
Though scores of significant studies of psychedelics had been published, a number of questions loomed large among the small band of scientists committed to interrogating the therapeutic potential of these unique compounds, including those who for years had kept the psychedelic candle aflame (not the least of whom were editorial board members Roland Griffiths, Charlie Grob, Dave Nichols, and David Nutt). Might psychedelics garner widespread scientific interest? Would studies of psychedelics be considered for funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or other public agencies? Would we still be studying psychedelics in only a few short years, or might our first studies also be our last?
Needless to say, the psychedelic landscape has changed dramatically since we first met. Every year sees greater psychedelic research output than the last, with university centers dedicated to the study of psychedelics mushrooming across North America and Europe. Over 100 psychedelic trials are registered with clinicaltrials.gov and there are over 100 corporate entities dedicated to the development of psychedelics as medicines. NIH and other public agencies have funded studies designed to evaluate psilocybin in the treatment of mental health conditions, with every indication that additional funding lies on the horizon for both clinical and preclinical studies. To say that we have been pleasantly surprised with these developments would be an understatement.
In April of 2022, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. approached us to gauge our interest in a journal focused on psychedelics as medicines, the very journal you now find yourself reading, which would come to be titled, appropriately, Psychedelic Medicine. We both agreed that the time had come for a specialty journal dedicated to the rigorous empirical investigation of psychedelics as therapeutics. Despite our obvious optimism around the promise of psychedelics as medicines, we emphasized the importance of the pursuit of truth—a commitment to the notion that facts are stubborn things, the dispassionate scientific process, and going wherever the data may lead, including to the conclusion that psychedelics may be effective in some circumstances, but not in others.
When Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. asked us to serve as editors-in-chief of Psychedelic Medicine, we enthusiastically accepted. Our enthusiasm only grew as the journal assembled a dream team editorial board of luminaries and leaders in the field, each of whom share the objective to advance psychedelic science through the early 21st century. With Psychedelic Medicine, the field is poised to grow and mature, particularly with the support of the growing community of psychedelic researchers. We encourage you to consider Psychedelic Medicine as an outlet for your work.
As we help launch this important venture, we cannot help but to think back to that day we first met in Wisconsin 7 years ago, openly wondering where the field might be going, if anywhere at all. We are confident that with your contributions, the next 7 years has much to behold.