UCSF Will Follow 3,000 People Who Already Plan to Take Psychedelics, Wherever They Take Them
Most psychedelic research happens in clinics, with screened patients and a controlled dose. A new UCSF study called CANOPY goes the other way. It will follow up to 3,000 people around the world who already plan to use a psychedelic, at home, at a retreat or somewhere else, and track them from before the experience to six months after. The researchers don't supply drugs or choose what people take. The study covers psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, ibogaine, MDMA and ketamine.
Most of it runs remotely through questionnaires. Participants who can travel to UCSF also get brain imaging and EEG, give blood and saliva samples, and wear tracking devices. "CANOPY gives us an opportunity to bring scientific rigor to these experiences at a scale we haven't had before," said Robin Carhart-Harris, the UCSF neurology professor who leads it. Funding comes from ARPA-H, the federal health research agency: up to $1.4 million for CANOPY, part of up to $8.5 million across three UCSF psychedelic projects. One, co-led by Jennifer Mitchell, looks at how set and setting shape a trip. Another, with Lorenzo Pasquini, studies older adults with early signs linked to Alzheimer's.
It's the research version of what the Fireside help line's 25,000 calls showed: most psychedelic use is happening outside clinics, and almost nothing is known about how it goes. UCSF says it does not provide psychedelics or direct people to obtain them.