Lee Hoffer, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Anthropology and Professor of Psychiatry

Dear Colleagues:

Some of us may see this title and think, “what a long strange trip it’s been…”

Or read it as psychedelics during the renaissance and think of Hieronymus Bosch.

But it has become a common term, referring to a burgeoning effort to research medical uses of psychedelic drugs such as LSD, MDMA (Ecstasy), ayahuasca, ketamine, and especially psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”), all of which can have hallucinogenic effects and also have, err… recreational use. (“Why not mescaline?” asks the newsletter author who read two of Carlos Castaneda’s books while in college. That’s complicated and maybe changing.) As research into illegal products goes mainstream, UC Berkeley now has a Center for the Science of Psychedelics, while Johns Hopkins boasts about its role in catalyzing the “renaissance.” The boom in research is not limited to the United States. It is also linked to efforts to legalize use at least for medical and possibly for other purposes, with Colorado and Oregon having passed different and complex decriminalization initiatives.

This may cause a sense of déjà vu, or flashbacks. It looks a lot like the early stages of what has now become widespread semi-legalization of cannabis use. Advocates for psychedelic use may hope to follow a hemp roadmap. Yet there may be some significant differences. One may be that, in spite of the obvious obstacles to doing research on a Schedule I drug, we may be beginning to see stronger evidence for psychedelic use for some specific diseases. These include studies within the V.A. of MDMA as a treatment for PTSD, evidence that carefully monitored and accompanied psilocybin experiences are unusually effective for treating depression, and even use of psilocybin to help people stop smoking – which led to Johns Hopkins and partners receiving a $4,000,000 NIH grant for further study. A second is that psychedelics are arguably a heck of a lot more dangerous, per use, than cannabis. While “psychedelics have an extremely low chance of lethal overdose and there is little likelihood of addiction,” as the New York Times reported last week, they also could “trigger a psychotic or manic episode.” It also is not real safe to use them unaccompanied by someone who is not using them. There also may be more reason to worry about interaction with other conditions, especially cardiac or seizure disorders.

At the same time, there are striking similarities with the campaign to research cannabis and make it available. One is leakage: “medical” use turning into recreational. Expansion of telemedicine as a way to access prescriptions is clearly being abused for access to ketamine. Another is quality control – how to assure the drugs are what they are supposed to be, in a reasonable dose. Here a potential concern with cannabis products may be particularly severe. Another is who can more (or less) safely consume the product, and whether even if decriminalized there should be laws about that. Then one should ask about conditions under which it could be used – personally, I don’t want users of either behind the wheel of a car.

But what seems most familiar to me is a pattern of hype, in which previous suppression or distortion of knowledge due to anti-drug laws is now in part being replaced by overselling of limited positive findings and downplaying under-researched risks. The hype might then be a bubble, as we may be seeing with a “shroom boom” and bust in stocks of developers of psychedelic medical treatments.

So, as is often the case for our Friday discussions, one might ask “what is to be done” but should probably start with, “what is going on?” Lee Hoffer, a leading expert on illegal drug markets and the opioid epidemic, has a new project with colleagues from across CWRU on “Understanding psilocybin in the context of the modern ‘psychedelic renaissance,’” with seed funding from the university’s Expanding Horizons Initiative. He joins us to discuss what he’s learned, what he hopes to learn, and what we might want to know.

In-Person and Virtual Attendance

In order to make it easy for people to protect themselves and still participate, the meetings can be attended on Zoom. Participants can register for each meeting in the same way they did for the past two years. The link is posted below.

The discussion begins at 12:30 p.m., but the room should be open no later than Noon. We try to have beverages and refreshments set up soon after that. Participants should be able to sign on to Zoom also by Noon. But please remember not much will be happening online until the talk begins at 12:30 pm. Please also be prepared to show identification when entering Kelvin Smith Library.

Zoom participants should speak up when asked for questions or comments, or submit thoughts through Zoom’s chat function. Please keep yourself muted until you are choosing to speak.

Each week we will send out this newsletter with information about the topic. It will also include a link to register (for free) for the discussion. When you register, you will automatically receive from the Zoom system the link to join the meeting. If you do not get the newsletter, you should also be able to get the information each Monday by checking http://fridaylunch.case.edu Then if you choose you can use the contact form on that website to request the registration link.

This week’s Zoom link for registration is:

https://cwru.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0udOitqT8qG9KFdtjDavUdDC52Oc8R8_vT

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Please also e-mail padg@case.edu if you have questions about arrangements or any suggestions. Or call at 216 368-2426 and we’ll try to get back to you. We are very pleased to be partnering this the Siegal Lifelong Learning Program to share information about the discussions.

Best wishes for safety and security for you and yours,

Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies

About Our Guest

Lee Hoffer is a cultural / medical anthropologist who does research on illegal drug use and substance use disorder. His work has informed a range of topics, including; HIV risk behaviors of drug injectors, understanding the misuse of medications, the diagnosis of substance use disorders, drug policy and community-based intervention studies. His research currently focuses on understanding, monitoring, and predicting trends in drug use, as well as studying how illicit drug markets, and drug acquisition, influences the lives of people who use drugs. In addition to his research endeavors, Dr. Hoffer has on-going collaborations with and provides technical support services to local community health care providers seeking to reduce the harms associated with drug use.

* Kelvin Smith Library requires all entrants to show identification when entering the building, unless they have a university i.d. that they can magnetically scan. We are sorry if that seems like a hassle, but it has been Library policy for a while in response to security concerns. Please do not complain to the library staff at the entrance, who are just doing their jobs.

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

Note: We are still working to create the schedule for the semester. In addition to the programs listed below, a few others are nearly arranged. Please contact me at joseph.white@case.edu to suggest other topics – especially if you can suggest speakers!

March 10: Moore v. Harper and Merrill v. Milligan. With Atiba Ellis, J.D., Professor of Law.

March 17: Spring Break

March 24: Thinking About Gender and Transgender Identities. With Angela Clark-Taylor Ph.D., Executive Director, Flora Stone Mather Center for Women.

March 31: The Electricity Grid of the Future: Challenges and Opportunities. With Kenneth A. Loparo, Ph.D., Arthur L. Parker Endowed Professor Emeritus, Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering.

April 7: TBD

April 14: TBD

April 21: TBD

April 28: China. With Paul E. Schroeder Ph.D., longtime Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science.