MindShift

2025 highlights on MindShift

It is time for a review of the past year on Mindshift. In the United States, an unexpected shift occurred as conservatives began to embrace mind-altering drugs: Texas launched the largest state-funded psychedelic research program in the country, while Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to integrate psychedelic therapies into clinical settings within a year.

Europe, too, saw significant shifts. Germany approved psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, Norway introduced reimbursement for ketamine therapies, and the Czech Republic approved the medical use of psilocybin starting in 2026.

In laboratories, 2025 brought groundbreaking discoveries. Researchers made strides in understanding how non-hallucinogenic psychedelics - dubbed “neuroplastogens” - enhance neuroplasticity without inducing a trip. These compounds also show potential in combating inflammation, opening new avenues for treating diseases ranging from asthma to Alzheimer’s disease.

The year was also marked by promising clinical trials. Beckley Psytech’s BPL-003, a mebufotenin-derived nasal spray, demonstrated significant symptom reduction in patients with treatment-resistant depression during Phase II trials. Meanwhile, New York-based MindMed reported encouraging results from its Phase II trial of MM120, a salt form of LSD, for generalized anxiety disorder. The pharmaceutical giant AbbVie acquired Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals’ bretisilocin (a short-acting psychedelic) for a staggering $1.2 billion.

In brief

Oh my God! Religious groups have increasingly succeeded in incorporating ayahuasca into their spiritual practices, legally and illegally. → The Guardian 

A motionless trip. In rare cases, an Australian species of Psilocybe mushroom can induce paralysis and muscle weakness lasting up to three days. → ABC

A dive into desire. People sometimes discover previously unknown aspects about their sexuality and gender identity after taking mind-altering drugs. → BBC

The right to try. If passed by the US Congress, the Freedom to Heal Act could give eligible patients the right to try Schedule I substances, including LSD and psilocybin. → Filter 

Meditation & psychedelics. Finnish scientists compare these two transformative experiences, how they compare, and differ. → Scientific Reports

Found and lost in regulation? Five years after it legalized the medical use of psilocybin, some argue that the industry has become too costly and too regulated. → The Guardian

If you have a little more time

Blitzed & Tripped. German author Norman Ohler traces the history of drugs in Nazi Germany and their lasting influence on Western science. He explains how stimulants and psychedelics were used not for healing or insight, but as tools of war and control, first by the Nazi regime, and later by Cold War intelligence programs such as the CIA’s MKUltra.
→ YouTube

Before the ban. In 1966, Lisa Bieberman, a Harvard graduate and founder of the Psychedelic Information Center, was prosecuted and convicted by the FDA for mailing LSD-infused sugar cubes across state lines. The FDA did so under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) of 1938. Her conviction illustrates how federal authorities were using existing laws to curb psychedelic distribution well before the formal scheduling of LSD.
→ Harvard Law School