Upcoming Events
Federal Rescheduling of Cannabis: An Expert Panel
February 9, 2026, 12:30–1:30 p.m., Virtual
The Petrie-Flom Center
In late 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to expedite the rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.
If finalized, the reclassification would mark a significant policy shift with concrete legal, economic, and research implications. What does this mean for recreational/medical use, state and federal drug law, and cannabis research?
Our panel of experts bring multidisciplinary perspectives to this complicated issue.
Featured News
“Communal Work, Ceremonial Becomings, and Rights to Knowledge,” An Interview Essay with Elías García Méndez
Elías García Méndez & Andrea Sánchez Castañeda, CSWR
Elías García Méndez was the morning keynote for the 2025 conference, “Psychedelic Intersections: Betwixt & Between Plant Medicine, Chaplaincy, & Aesthetics.” García Méndez is a Mazatec educator and founder of the Casa Adobe Galería, an art gallery and cultural space in Huautla de Jiménez, Mexico. García Méndez sat down with Andrea Sánchez-Castañeda, CSWR Postdoctoral Fellow of Indigenous Plant Medicine Traditions of the Americas, to reflect on xábasen and the work of Casa Adobe.
Recent Research
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A qualitative study of long-term members of ayahuasca spiritual communities in the United States: Motivations, practices, experiences and beliefs
Joseph La Torre et al., including John Rapp; Journal of Psychedelic Studies Co-authored by Petrie-Flom Center’s Psychedelic Use, Law, and Spiritual Experience (PULSE) Affiliated Researcher, John Rapp….
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Psychedelic-assisted therapy as a complex intervention: implications for clinical trial design
S. D. Muthumaraswamy et al., including Eduardo Schenberg; Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology Co-authored by Petrie-Flom Center’s Psychedelic Use, Law, and Spiritual Experience (PULSE) Affiliated Researcher, Eduardo Schenberg. Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) has typically been evaluated using conventional randomised controlled trials (RCTs), which assess treatment efficacy under highly controlled conditions. However, PAT constitutes a complex intervention, integrating pharmacological,…
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“Ketamine Integration Chaplaincy: A Novel Spiritual Care Approach to Psychedelic Integration”
Jeffrey Breau, Paul Gillis-Smith, & Tara Deonauth; Anthropology of Consciousness Ketamine and esketamine are regularly prescribed in the United States as pharmaceutical interventions for treatment-resistant depression. Although ketamine’s mode of action is distinct from classic psychedelics, patients frequently report similar alterations in consciousness, including experiences described as spiritual or religious. This article provides an overview…
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Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology
Jeffrey Breau and Paul Gillis-Smith, CSWR, Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology The Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology presents interdisciplinary research from scholars and practitioners working at the crossroads of psychedelics, religion, medicine, race, Indigeneity, law, and the underground, history, anthropology, and beyond. Edited by Jeffrey Breau and Paul Gillis-Smith, the Anthology expands on research presented…
Latest News
What Western medicine can learn from the ancient history of psychedelics
David Cox explores what the long history of psychedelics, drawing from traditions in the Americas and Europe, could teach contemporary medical interest in these substances. Featuring CSWR Postdoctoral Fellow Osiris González Romero on Mesoamerican histories of psilocybin mushrooms.
Experts Debate Federal Legalization of Psychedelic Therapy at Harvard Law School Event
Experts on psychedelic use and drug regulation discussed whether psychedelic therapy should be legalized federally at a Wednesday event hosted by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School.
Front of mind for Michael Pollan: psychedelics
What is unique to the new Harvard project, Pollan stressed, is its integration of expertise from the Divinity School and Law School as well as disciplines from across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Scholars at the University of California, Berkeley, will also contribute. This diversity of thought will enable researchers to pursue nonclinical applications including those in the religious realm.
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