Psilocybin-assisted Therapy: One Patient vs. the DEA
Episode Notes & Resources
Welcome to the third and final episode in our series on the potential of psilocybin-assisted therapy to relieve existential distress and help us live as well as possible with metastatic breast cancer.
In this episode, we speak with two women taking action to increase legal access to psilocybin-assisted therapy in the United States. The first is a patient living with MBC who, along with her doctor, have brought a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Agency which is denying her access to psilocybin in the palliative care setting and under existing Right to Try laws for promising investigational medications for the terminally ill. The patient petitioner, Erinn Baldeschwiler, tells us why she joined the lawsuit, what she hopes to gain from psilocybin-assisted therapy, and what it’s been like to deal with all the legal proceedings on top of a progressing MBC diagnosis.
Our second interview in this episode is with the attorney who is leading the legal case to open access to psilocybin under Right to Try legislation, Kathryn Tucker of the Emerge Law Group. Kathryn explains why psilocybin should be immediately available to patients suffering from distress, anxiety, depression under FDA rules and state and federal Right to Try laws. But the DEA is continuing to block access and hold psilocybin on Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substance Act.
It’s confusing, but we explain it all here. Lastly, see the Episode Notes for a current petition to the DEA to step out of the way and grant access to psilocybin for anyone with a terminal illness.
This series has been led by series producer Dr. Paula Jayne, with assistance from co-host Lynda Weatherby and senior producer and host Lisa Laudico.
Thanks for listening!
Episode Notes
Petition to DEA to open access to Psilocybin under Right to Try laws
Emerge Law Group Blogs with Kathryn Tucker including embedded legal documents on the AIMS v. USDEA
Two Cancer Patients Battle to Make Psilocybin Accessible for Palliative Care (Scientific American, June 2022) *please note that this article was written prior to the DEA’s final denial of the petition
For more on the psilocybin-assisted therapy research from Johns Hopkins, please visit: The Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research
Audio for cold open kindly provided by Reconsider; full video available here
Short documentary film on May 9th, 2022 protest at the DEA - produced by Red Media/Susan Rockefeller, Producer
"Psychedelics Today" podcast with Kathryn Tucker, April 2022
Reports from the organization Brain Futures:
Landscape Review of Psychedelic Assisted Treatment (PAT) Research Findings, March 2022:
Expediting Psychedelic Assisted Treatment (PAT) Adoption in Clinical Settings, May 2022
Books:
Michael Pollan’s “How to Change Your Mind”
Meet the Guests of this Episode
Growing up in a small farming community in rural Missouri, Stephanie Lynn Graff, MD, FACP was the first in her family to attend college. Because she was drawn to science from a young age, she enrolled in a 6-year medical program right out of high school. As she progressed from medical school to residency to a fellowship, she was fascinated by every aspect of the science of oncology—including cell biology and pharmacology.
Dr. Stephanie Graff is the Director of Breast Oncology at Lifespan Cancer Institute at the Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. Graff serves as co-lead of the Breast Cancer Translational Research Disease Working Group at Brown University and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Warren-Alpert School of Medicine. Prior to joining the team at Lifespan/Brown, she was Director of both the Breast Program and Clinical Research at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at HCA Midwest, as well as Associate Director of the Breast Cancer Research Program at Sarah Cannon Research Institute and National Breast Lead for the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network’s clinical programs. In addition, Dr. Graff serves as a medical advisor to the Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.
Dr. Graff is board certified in Medical Oncology, Hematology, and Internal Medicine; and completed a breast oncology sub-fellowship at the University of Kansas. Dr. Graff has broad experience as a Principal Investigator on numerous clinical trials across all phases of drug development, in addition to work in translational research, genomics, and gender bias. In addition to scientific publications, she is an award-winning writer, social media influencer, and sought-after public speaker. Dr. Graff has received the Frist Humanitarian Award for her work in the community and the Benjamin L. Sapers Memorial Award for her “passion for pedagogy, academic rigor, empathy and humanism, with profound feeling for the person as patient.” Dr. Graff currently serves on the American Cancer Society Rhode Island Leadership Council and actively volunteers in the American Society of Clinical Oncology, where she is a 2020 graduate of the prestigious ASCO Leadership Development Program, and now serves on the Joint Certifications Committee and Women In Oncology Work Group. Ultimately, Dr. Graff is passionate about connecting with her patients to provide personalized, comprehensive oncology care, advancing breast cancer research, and breast cancer prevention.