By Neşe Devenot
Since the 2022 publication of “Preparing for the Bursting of the Psychedelic Hype Bubble,” a JAMA Psychiatry Viewpoint by David Yaden and colleagues, a wave of scholarship and commentaries has emphasized the ethical importance of nuanced science communication about the still-nascent field of psychedelic medicine.
By P.F. Anderson and LaTeesa James
PubMed special queries are master search strategies on common, important, but challenging health topics, which are usually peer-reviewed. Disability certainly qualifies as a common, important health topic that is challenging to search – and yet, no PubMed special query exists for it.
This oversight is concerning. Put simply, it’s important that disability as a topic is easily identifiable in the scholarly record. While there are specialized databases for the topic, such as NARIC’s REHABDATA, the global research community is most likely to begin with PubMed. Currently, structured vocabulary terms related to disability are scattered throughout PubMed’s medical subject heading (MeSH) trees, often without cross references to facilitate discovery, forcing discovery to largely depend on the unstructured language of whatever words were chosen by the authors to describe their research topics. This lack of consensus and consistency across professional disability terms, categories, and definitions contributes to a lack of comparability, discoverability, and access for disability data as well as research.
By Temple University Center for Public Health Law Research
Hilary Wething, PhD, is an assistant professor of public policy and a Jackman-McCourtney Early Career Professor at Penn State University. Her research examines the relationship between economic volatility and labor market policy, household decision-making, and social safety-net programs.
Dr. Wething’s research published in the Journal of Public Health Policy investigates the impact of the generosity, inclusion, and autonomy of state paid sick leave laws on influenza-like-illness (ILI) rates and its components using data from the Centers for Disease Control and CPHLR’s data on state-level paid sick leave statues.
We asked Dr. Wething a few questions about this work.
By Emily Michiko Morris
Professor Jorge Contreras’ commentary on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2022 objects to Senator Thom Tillis’ recently introduced bill. Specifically, he argues that proposed inclusion of isolated and purified human genes and other naturally occurring substances as patent eligible subject matter is unnecessary and would both stymie research and obstruct access to medicine. But the truth is these criticisms rely mostly on narrative and anecdote rather than rigorous empirical evidence. (Professor Contreras has written an article acknowledging the many narratives behind the gene patenting debate: see Narratives of Gene Patenting, 43 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 1133 (2016)).
By Leah Pierson
Medical students spend a lot of time learning about conditions they will likely never treat. This weak relationship between what students are taught and what they will treat has negative implications for patient care.
By Gwendolynne Reid, Cherice Escobar Jones, and Mya Poe
Biases in scholarly citations against scholars of color promote racial inequality, stifle intellectual analysis, and can harm patients and communities.
While the lack of citations to scholars of color in medical journals may be due to carelessness, ignorance, or structural impediments, in some cases it is due to reckless neglect.
Our study demonstrates that the American Medical Association (AMA) has failed to promote greater racial inclusion in its flagship publication, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), despite an explicit pledge to do so.
By Vince Polito
People who microdose psychedelics claim that it provides a very wide range of benefits, from improvements in mood, to reduced substance use, to cognitive enhancement.
But is microdosing really delivering all of those benefits? Or is it just a placebo effect?
We are excited to welcome our inaugural group of affiliated researchers for the Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation (POPLAR). Through regular contributions to Bill of Health, as well as workshops and other projects, POPLAR affiliated researchers will share their expertise and perspectives on developments in psychedelics law and policy. We look forward to learning from and sharing their insights with our audiences. Keep an eye out for their bylines!
By Dustin Marlan
Following a recent wave of unbridled positivity culminating in a “shroom boom,” the psychedelic renaissance now finds itself under fire amidst concerns of predatory capitalism, cultural appropriation, adverse psychological effects, and sexual abuse and boundary issues by guides and therapists.
Nonetheless, the psychedelics industry is moving ahead at full speed. Oregon will begin accepting applications from businesses to run psilocybin service centers in January 2023. MDMA clinical trials are nearing completion and expected to result in FDA approval. And corporations are readying psychedelic compounds — natural and synthetic — to produce and deliver to the masses.
All of this begs the question of how psychedelics dosage should be regulated, particularly where, as journalist Shayla Love points out, “there’s reason to worry that there hasn’t been enough preparation for negative outcomes amidst the hype.”
By Sarah Hashkes
When we talk about microdosing psychedelics, it’s important we have a mutual understanding of its definition to be able to conduct accurate research, promote regulations, and educate the wider population. This article will look at three main questions and ambiguities regarding the term “microdosing psychedelics” and suggest a definition that would help promote coherence in the field.