Hybrid: Auditorium Ivan Pictet, Geneva Graduate Institute, Maison de la paix and online.
Moderated panel discussion followed by a reception
Evidence that widely-illegal substances most often grouped under the term “psychedelics” can have remarkable therapeutic benefits is fuelling a “psychedelic renaissance,” bringing together researchers, mental health advocates, the pharmaceutical industry, and many others.
The regulatory landscape for these substances varies significantly from one country to another and depending on the substance, drives patients to travel to obtain and consume substances in countries where they are legal, as in the example of retreats in the Netherlands or ayahuasca ceremonies in Peru.
These substances seem to have potential benefits for specific medical indications, in specific settings, and to have little addictive potential. Should they, therefore, continue to be prohibited in the same way as other illicit substances? Or should they be regulated and promoted to patients who could benefit from them? And what should be the norm-setting role of the World Health Organization? New approaches to drug use and regulation may be needed, taking into account various factors such as the complex relation with mental disorders.
Join us for an insightful discussion about the current state of play in the governance and use of psychedelics in connection with mental health.
Welcome: Suerie Moon | Co-Director, Global Health Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute
Opening remarks by Toni Berthel | President, Swiss Society of Addiction Medicine (SSAM)
Closing Remarks by Antoine Flahault | Director of the Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva; Deputy Director of the Swiss School of Public Health, Zürich
Moderated by Naomi Burke-Shyne | Executive Director, Harm Reduction International; Visiting Fellow, Global Health Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute
The International Geneva Global Health Platform, and co-hosted by Groupement Romand d’Etudes des Addictions (GREA), the Swiss Society of Addiction Medicine (SSAM) and the Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva.
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