Psychedelic News & Headlines #3
Woman faces up to 20 years in Italy over ayahuasca
Italy has classified ayahuasca as a controlled substance alongside heroin and cocaine since 2022, one of only two European countries (with France) to do so. A defendant identified in court records as “Amelia” is being prosecuted under the law and faces a possible six-to-twenty-year sentence, with proceedings continuing through 2026. Legal analysts note that international drug scheduling targets the isolated molecule DMT, not the ayahuasca plant preparation itself.
Source: Stefano Pipitone · ICEERS
Re-analysis finds psychedelics may match, not beat, standard antidepressants
A 2026 reanalysis of psychedelic depression trials found that after adjusting for functional unblinding, the fact that participants can usually tell whether they received the active drug or a placebo, the antidepressant effects of psilocybin and LSD appeared roughly comparable to those of conventional antidepressants rather than substantially superior. The authors frame the finding as a critique of trial design, not a conclusion that psychedelics are ineffective.
Source: JAMA Psychiatry
Denis Villeneuve reveals a “psychedelic unit” behind Dune: Part Three
At the July 2026 trailer launch for Dune: Part Three, director Denis Villeneuve disclosed that he assembled a small third film crew he called “the psychedelic unit,” two French-Canadian filmmakers, Kristof Brandl and Salomé Villeneuve, tasked with producing experimental, hallucinatory footage for the film. Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel was partly inspired by his own experiences with psilocybin. The film is scheduled for release on December 18, 2026.
Source: Gizmodo · UPI
FDA accepts trial application for noribogaine
In April 2026, the FDA accepted DemeRx’s Investigational New Drug application for DMX-1001, an oral formulation of noribogaine, the long-lasting metabolite of ibogaine, as a treatment for alcohol use disorder. Noribogaine is being developed partly to avoid the cardiac risks associated with ibogaine itself. Phase 2 work is anticipated in 2027. An accepted application authorizes human trials to begin and is not an approval.
Source: Ibogaine Policy Tracker · DemeRX
“Ketamine Queen” sentenced to 15 years over Matthew Perry’s death
On April 8, 2026, Jasveen Sangha, a Los Angeles drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen,” was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for supplying the ketamine that caused the death of actor Matthew Perry in 2023. Several doctors have also pleaded guilty in the case. Perry had been receiving supervised ketamine therapy for depression at the time of his death, intensifying scrutiny of the loosely regulated ketamine clinic industry.
Source: US DEA
Imperial College London extends the DMT experience to 30 minutes
Researchers at Imperial College London published the first pilot study of “DMTx,” an extended-state DMT protocol that uses a target-controlled intravenous infusion, borrowed from anaesthesiology, to hold a stable dose in the brain and stretch a normally 5-to-10-minute experience to around 30 minutes. Volunteers reported that subjective intensity rose then plateaued, and that reported encounters with “entities” increased with dose. Researchers framed the method as a way to study the DMT state in greater detail.
Source: Imperial College research overview
Texas ibogaine trial stalls over contract terms
Texas committed $50 million to ibogaine clinical trials, the largest state-funded psychedelic research program on record, led by UTHealth Houston and championed by veterans’ advocates. As of August 2026, the state’s Health and Human Services Commission said the submitted plans did not meet legal requirements under state law, including terms on matching funds and intellectual property, stalling the contract.
Source: Texas HHSC · Texas Tribune
Huberman and Bartlett discuss psychedelics on The Diary of a CEO
On the September 3, 2026 episode of The Diary of a CEO, one of the most widely followed podcasts globally, host Steven Bartlett and Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman discussed psychedelics as part of a wider conversation on health, faith, and Huberman’s new book. The exchange is notable as a mainstream, credible discussion of psychedelics reaching a large general audience.
Source: YouTube
New Zealand approves MDMA prescribing for PTSD
On September 4, 2026, New Zealand’s medicines regulator approved two psychiatrists to prescribe medicinal MDMA for treatment-resistant PTSD, the first time the drug has been prescribed outside a clinical trial in the country. It follows New Zealand’s 2025 approval of medicinal psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. Access is restricted to the two approved prescribers under strict reporting requirements, and MDMA remains an officially unapproved medicine.
Source: 1News · TIME
