This conference is organised for all those with a serious interest in psychedelic research.

We especially invite therapists, researchers, addiction experts and academics, as well as students (BA/MA/PhD) in the fields of psychology, medicine, biology and pharmacology to become acquainted with a field of research that regular university curricula barely touch upon. This is not to say that students of other disciplines will not be able to relate to the subject matter and gain fascinating insights into new scientific territories. Psychedelic research has a strong multidisciplinary character and we welcome an audience that reflects this multifaceted nature.

The discovery of psychedelic substances as LSD and psilocybin in the early 20th century made a big impact on the scientific community. By 1965 over 2000 papers had been published describing results of over 40.000 patients successfully treated for e.g. anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, depression and alcoholism. However, when most psychedelic substances were made illegal in 1966, these same therapists and scientists were forced to abandon their research. Psychedelic research came to an end as quickly as it had come to life.

The lack of control groups, proper subject screening and follow-up studies made it hard to draw any hard, scientific conclusions. However, the tide has turned, thanks to the efforts of MAPS and the Heffter Institute. Since the beginning of the 1990’s, psychedelic research has been carried out in accordance with contemporary scientific standards. Although the results of these studies look promising and many scientists working with these substances believe psychedelics to have a great potential, the subfield of psychedelic science has remained quite unknown to the general scientific audience.