Press Release: Trade association for UK psychedelic industry launches
Psychedelic Industry UK (PsyIndUK) has launched today, Wednesday 18 September 2024, to represent the UK’s psychedelic medicine and wellness sector.
The trade association will encourage cross-industry knowledge sharing and collaboration, as well as representing the sector with policymakers and regulators. PsyIndUK is led by a team with significant experience and expertise in running organisations, undertaking psychedelic scientific and medical research and policy outputs and raising capital in the biotechnology, medical and wellness spaces. PsyIndUK will address the UK's unique challenges:
1. The UK is experiencing stalled momentum in drug policy reforms. Zero updates to UK drug policy expanding potential applications of controlled substances have occurred since specialist doctors were permitted to prescribe medical cannabis in November 2018. 2024 has especially been a year of no progress in terms of drug policy reform — in the run-up to and with related recalibrations across the political spectrum following the General Election.
2. The UK’s existing psychedelic industry is primarily privatised: With many leading clinical researchers of psychedelics including DrugSciences’ Professor David Nutt believing the lack of public funding to be tied to the current scheduling status’ of psychedelics, the vast majority of UK-based psychedelic clinical trials are privately funded.
The group’s formation is both a response to these issues and to a collective sense that, as Q4 approaches, time is particularly ripe for change: A sense that the dust has now settled and it is a good time to begin re-approaching MPs from all parties on a drug policy reform front was expressed by several attendees of today’s meeting, with many years’ commitment to these advocacy efforts.
Addressing the potential marginalisation of alternative perspectives by putting patient-representing organisations into conversation with psychedelic industry leaders has been a key objective in setting up this new trade association:
“Given the interrelation of psychedelic industry’s financial backing with its possible evolutions and cultural impacts, it is vital that maximum efforts are made to foster conversations between those at the forefront of its development, with organisations addressing related socio-cultural concerns. Concerns including… the welfare needs of those who cannot access clinical trials, safety concerns and unmet expectations relating to the trials themselves, reporting responsibility to the public in the ways results are represented, to name a few,” says James Bunn, co-founder of Psychedelic Industry (UK).
A full code of ethics and operating practices will be written up following today’s launch, and posted on the website (also live as of today): www.psyind.uk.
Intentions for the group expressed at today’s launch signpost some meaningful departures from the status quo within the psychedelic industry:
“This is the UK psychedelic industry’s opportunity for embodied ethics,” says group member Anya Oleksiuk, Director of PsyAware and Former Co-director at The Psychedelic Society, noting that stating a commitment to representational diversity or the visibility of marginalised viewpoints does not necessarily result in enacting this in practice.
“A culture which is too quick to ban or delist organisations it doesn’t agree with loses opportunities for growth and inclusion,” says Onaya founder, psychiatrist Dr Simon Ruffell, proposing a fresh approach of inviting ideologically or operationally unaligned organisations to a discussion.
Speaking to Psychedelic Industry UK’s key objective of offering everybody a seat at the table in relation to how the growth and health of the UK’s psychedelic industry affects us all, James Bunn says:
“We’re proud to announce the launch of Psychedelic Industry UK. We are a collective of experts who have been working in the UK’s psychedelic industry and watching it develop. As the UK continues to establish itself as a world leader in this space, it is important to think and act proactively rather than reactively to the new challenges that this industry will face in the coming years. We hope that a unified approach will strengthen the industry's credibility and influence with policymakers, government, and other stakeholders.”
The need for unanimous ethics across the psychedelic research and treatment space at this time of robust growth is underscored by Psychedelic Industry (UK) chair Rayyan Zafar:
“Psychedelics and psychedelic therapy are becoming increasingly recognised as promising therapeutic tools to treat a wide range of psychiatric and medical conditions as well as demonstrating effectiveness in improving wellbeing in non-clinical populations.
“Research from institutions in the UK, catalysed by the work of Imperial College and now others around the UK and globally have laid the foundations of the psychedelic industry which has emerged over the last decade. This research has been pivotal to the formation of a sector which now has the task of delivering these treatments and interventions over the coming years.
“With the likely upcoming approval for MDMA assisted therapy in 2024 and Psilocybin therapy soon after as well as changes in regulations in certain jurisdictions allowing for legal access in non-medical and wellness markets, this is the ideal time to bring the sector together to enable it to grow in a sustainable and ethical manner.”
PsyIndUK is now welcoming membership applications from legitimate businesses and organisations across the industry. Members will receive a range of benefits and services, including working groups, events and networking, and advocacy.
To see a full list of members and find out more, please visit www.psyind.uk
CONTACT: James Bunn | james@psyind.uk