Hey everyone, welcome to Being Well, I'm Forrest Hanson.

If you're new to the podcast, thanks for joining us today.

And if you've listened before, welcome back.

Over the last 10 or so years, there has been an absolute explosion of interest in psychedelics,

particularly related to the potential that these substances have to treat a variety

of mental health conditions.

And phrases like psychedelic assisted therapy have gone from the relative fringes of the

mental health conversation to bursting into the mainstream.

For instance, you might have read Michael Pollan's bestselling book How to Change Your Mind

or watched the Netflix special by the same name.

Or maybe you've heard a wide variety of podcast hosts talk about their thoroughly out

their experiences with substances like DMT.

There's a lot of hype around psychedelics right now.

And it's not just hype, there's a fascinating and growing body of research on the usage

of substances like psilocybin, LSD and MDMA in clinical settings as a potential treatment

for everything from depression to anxiety to PTSD.

And more anecdotally, many, many people have reported using these substances as powerful

tools for personal self exploration and growth.

But as the hype around something rises, it's really easy to get a bit carried away, particularly

when we're talking about substances that are as complex and divisive as psychedelics.

That's why I've been really looking forward to this conversation today with a member of

the faculty at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Dr.

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