………………………………………………………………………………………….. The Magic of Mushrooms

The magic of mushrooms –an interview with Barney Neal

I had the pleasure of speaking to Barney Neal, the chief communication officer at Albert Labs, a company working to quickly get psylocibin licensed to treat mental health conditions. We spoke about psychedelics and how they might be a treatment one day on the NHS.

What are you working on at the moment?

I have several roles. My first is working at Albert Labs, a biopharmaceutical company that conducts clinical research on psylocibin. We are looking to support cancer patients with their mental distress. I’m also the cofounder of the Psychedelic Medicine Association. This is a platform that aims to educate the front line of the health service on psychedelics. I used to work in venture capital, and I am an engineer by trade.

Why is your company called Albert Labs?

It’s named after the notable swiss chemist Albert Hoffman. He first synthesised psilocybin from mushrooms. After he synthesised psylocibin, he ingested it. He then saw potential for the use of it in psychiatric disorders.

When was psylocibin first synthesised?

1952. We’ve had 70 years of knowing about these drugs but given the stigma and politics around them we are only just getting to legalising them now.

How does the treatment work?

There are 3 stages. Pre-therapy, where you prepare the patients for what a psychedelic experience might be like, and the overwhelming feelings that come with the treatment. Then there is a single dosing day. The patient will be treated in a very cosy setting with nice lighting, music and soft furnishings. They will be dosed with 25mg of psylocibin. 30-40 minutes later they will be in a full-blown psychedelic experience. During this time, they will be accompanied by a psychotherapist. They will monitor the patients, making sure they are comfortable. They will ‘hold the space’ to allow the patients to heal themselves. Third, there is post integration, where patients are helped to integrate new ways of thinking back into their lives.

Why is Albert Labs running trials on cancer patients?

Cancer patients can be those who struggle the most in society. It’s impossible to imagine the anxiety and mental distress that someone facing cancer endures. We want to help them with their unmet needs.n the UK alone there's about 1.2 million cancer patients who have severe

distress. That is the number of patients we wish to treat. These patients have anxiety, depression, or existential crisis.

What is existential crisis?

This is the fear of dying. It needs to be discussed much more. Psychedelics could be hugely helpful for this.

Do we know how psylocibin actually works?

I’ll explain as best I can. The person who I always take inspiration from is Dr Robin CarhartHarris. He’s the head of the centre of psychedelic research at Imperial College London. Following admission of psychedelics, fMRI scans show that the brain enters a state of hyperconnectivity. In this state, areas of the brain that don’t normally talk to each other, or connect, appear to connect. An area of the brain, called the default mode network, is also deregulated when taking psychedelics. This area is responsible for one’s ego, or sense of self. Deregulation of this area leads to a change in the way one thinks. This is very powerful. People also feel like they are having an out of body experience, where they are looking down on themselves. One analogy that I like uses the image of a skier. An ill person’s brain connections are like that of a ski run where all the pathways have repeatedly been carved out. It is hard to not go down the path that has already been carved. But with a fresh layer of snow, or psychedelics, it allows you to carve out your own path. This is similar to how neurons work, new neural pathways are opened up after taking psychedelics. The way we think changes after psychedelics. New thought patterns develop. These changes happen after just a single dose.

What if you took psychedelics without the pre- and post-integration?

This won’t cure your mental ill health. You need the pre- and post-therapy paired with the psychedelic to help ill mental health. Recreational psychedelic use, say at a music festival, is for pleasure, but isn’t helpful to your well-being in the same way. In a controlled treatment setting there are factors like comfort, and safety that help the psychedelics improve mental health. Your mindset is really important to control so that you have a good or healing trip. The outcomes are so much better in the clinical setting. And the risks are far worse recreationally.

Are there any good documentaries on psychedelics?

Yes. ‘Magic Medicine’ is great. I like how they describe psychedelics as like having the best therapy in a single capsule, but the therapy is yourself.

Does stigma still delay psychedelic research?

Absolutely. And stigma limits funding. We need to improve attitudes to psychedelics still. Nixon’s war on drugs suppressed society and was all about controlling people. The US government spread misinformation on psychedelics to accelerate the prohibition of these substances.

Do you have any book recommendations on this topic?

‘Sedated: How Modern Capitalism Created Our Mental Health Crisis’ is fantastic. It looks into how we treat mental health. Lots of people are given SSRIs that don’t work on them long term. SSRIs are better as a short-term solution, for example for people with suicidal ideation. Psychedelic assisted psychotherapy could cure someone’s mental health indefinitely.

Are psychedelics clinically available anywhere at the moment?

Oregon state in the USA is in the process of legalising certain psychedelics. Canada has a very liberal relationship with drug policy. There’s an interesting charity out there called Therapsil. Therapsil treats cancer patients with psychedelic therapy. 500 therapists went through their own psychedelic experience to help better how they treat patients with psychedelics. Truffles, a psylocibin is legal in Amsterdam. This is just a loophole because they are essentially magic mushrooms but are truffles, so they grow underground. In Jamaica, or some south American countries there are legalised uses. Importantly, nowhere has legalised psychedelics for medicinal use.

What research approaches are Albert Labs using?

We use a real-world evidence approach. This is a subtype of clinical trials that looks at a broader data collection with a focus to what happens in the real world. It is a much faster method to get drugs licensed than randomised controlled trials. It is the method by which COVID vaccines were developed.

How long do you think it will be until psylocibin is available on the NHS?

Another company, COMPASS pathways, estimates that psylocibin will be available on the NHS for treatment resistant depression in 2025. Our company, Albert Labs, hopes to get psylocibin assisted psychotherapy licensed by 2023.

Have you used psylocibin yourself recreationally?

I have. I’ve tried psylocibin, LSD, and MDMA. The whole class of psychedelics are completely misunderstood. Luckily, I have never suffered from depression. But when I experienced these substances, I just knew that they could better someone’s mental health. Most people are unaware that psychedelics aren’t crazy and have huge potential. Written by Katherine Grigg