Psychedelic Science
Pharmacology of Psychedelics in People of Color
Emerging evidence from randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials suggests that psychedelic compounds may be beneficial in the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. Although there is a rich and extensive global history of psychedelic use among peoples of various cultures, ethnicities, and intersectional identities, psychedelic research has been conducted almost exclusively among White participants in North America and Western Europe.
The failure to include black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in psychedelic research trials both creates disparities in treatment access and neglects the ethnic, racial, and cultural factors that impact individual responses to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies. Previous ethnopsychopharmacological research has indicated notable ethnoracial differences in the metabolism, safety, and efficacy of psychotropic drugs, yet no studies have directly investigated the impact of ethnoracial-based differences in psychedelic drug pharmacology.
We conducted a comprehensive literature review investigating the impact of varying ethnopharmacological factors on psychedelic treatment outcomes, including genetic and epigenetic factors related to culture, ethnicity, and race that may alter clinical responses as well as the social determinants of health that negatively impact BIPOC more broadly and are equally relevant to psychedelic medicine. We discuss the potential cultural, clinical, and public health benefits of expanding funding for this area and draw attention to the unique and individualized needs of ethnoracially diverse clients in therapeutic settings.
Related Paper
Fogg, C., Michaels, T. I., de la Salle, S., Jahn, Z. W., & Williams, M. T. (2021). Ethnoracial health disparities and the ethnopsychopharmacology of psychedelic medicine. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 29(5), 539–554.
Popular Press
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