The Hopkins-Oxford Psychedelics Ethics Working Group Consensus Statement

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The first Hopkins-Oxford Psychedelic Ethics (HOPE) workshop convened to discuss ethical matters relating to psychedelics in August 2023 at the University of Oxford.

The organizers* (BDE, DBY, EJ) aimed for a diversity of participant backgrounds and perspectives. The keynotes were given by an Indigenous scholar and a psychiatrist; other attendees included lawyers and ethicists, psychedelic scientists, anthropologists, philosophers, entrepreneurs, and harm reduction actors.

The workshop was organized out of a recognition that the field of psychedelics is at a pivotal point in its history: Research, clinical applications, and policy initiatives are quickly scaling up. The use of psychedelics is expanding, and the development of new systems governing their use is already underway. These changes are happening while substantial uncertainty remains, both about the effects of psychedelics and about the ethical dimensions surrounding their use. We recognize that there is a significant risk of harms, as well as potential benefits. Participants at the workshop discussed the ethical aspects of psychedelics, including research methods, clinical practices, history, law and society, spirituality, community, culture, and politics that arise in relation to psychedelics.

Read full consensus statement online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15265161.2024.2342764

Reference

Jacobs, E., Earp, B.D., Appelbaum, P.S., et al, (2024), 'The Hopkins-Oxford Psychedelics Ethics (HOPE) Working Group Consensus Statement', The American Journal of Bioethics (published online: 02 May 2024). DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2024.2342764

Authors

Edward Jacobs*

Brian D. Earp*

Paul S. Appelbaum

Lori Bruce

Ksenia Cassidy

Yuria Celidwen

Katherine Cheung

Sean K. Clancy

Neşe Devenot

Jules Evans

Holly Fernandez Lynch

Phoebe Friesen

Albert Garcia Romeu

Neil Gehani

Molly Maloof

Olivia Marcus

Ole Martin Moen

Mayli Mertens

Sandeep M. Nayak

Tehseen Noorani

Kyle Patch

Sebastian Porsdam-Mann

Gokul Raj

Khaleel Rajwani

Keisha Ray

William Smith

Daniel Villiger

Neil Levy

Roger Crisp

Julian Savulescu

Ilina Singh

David B. Yaden*

*Workshop organizers