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Why Ethics Matter in the Debate Around Psychedelics | Neşe Devenot | TEDxMidAtlantic

In 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration declined to approve several psychedelic therapies, based in part on testimony provided by activists concerned about ethical lapses in the underlying research. Dr. Neşe Devenot helped lead that opposition effort. In this talk, she shares her profound journey with psychedelics, highlighting their potential for personal healing and societal impact. While Devenot believes psychedelic therapies hold significant promise, she discusses the ethical challenges within the industry, detailing her opposition to Lykos Therapeutics' MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD due to serious allegations of misconduct. Her story underscores the importance of rigorous ethical standards and transparency in research, as well as the unique power of language and humanity in driving change. Neşe Devenot, PhD (they/she) is a Senior Lecturer in Writing at Johns Hopkins University who has contributed to the interdisciplinary field of Psychedelic Studies since 2010. They completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Bioethics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and received their PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Pennsylvania. Neşe’s scholarship explores the intersections between health humanities, psychedelic bioethics, neuroethics, and comparative literature.They were a 2015-16 Research Fellow at the New York Public Library’s Timothy Leary Papers and a Research Fellow with the New York University Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study, where they participated in the first qualitative study of participant experiences. Their psychedelic ethics research has appeared in the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, JAMA Psychiatry, the Journal of Psychedelic Studies, Frontiers in Psychology, and Anthropology of Consciousness. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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