Ontario’s Queen’s University’s is launching a psychedelics research collaborative to serve as an interdisciplinary space for the research, innovation, and education of psychedelics. The collaborative is supported by the Dimensions Health Fund, and will be led by David Clements, executive director of Psychedelic Research.
“We are now in the foundational stages of what we think is exciting,” Clements says. “What’s unique is the kind of unit we’re setting up and how we’re trying to approach what Queen’s contributions will be in a rapidly developing field.”
Canada is riding the global wave of psychedelic study. The country’s legal and regulatory environment are enabling researchers to gain approval to study psychedelic medicines for a variety of therapeutic uses. “We have an opportunity to be on the cutting edge of science,” Clements says.
The collaborative seeks to create partnerships in order to study the safety and efficacy of psychedelic medicine for mental health conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. It will also be aligned with the Faculty of Health Science’s commitment to supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) learners, staff, and faculty, and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiative.
“The study of psychedelics is an important and emerging area of research and policy in Canada,” says Jane Philpott, dean of the Health Sciences “As we look to the critical need for further research, education, and knowledge translation, researchers in Canada’s post-secondary institutions have an important role to play, and the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University has positioned itself at the forefront.”
“As a company that is deeply committed to improving general well-being, we are excited by the potential for transformational healing that psychedelics have been shown to provide,” said Chris Dawson, CEO of Dimensions Health Centres. “We are confident that the research and development at Queen’s will shape the psychedelics industry for years to come.”
