UCSF is looking for a few good psychedelic drug enthusiasts to participate in a study about the effects of the drugs in recreational, non-lab settings, in the hope of finding new clinical uses for them.The research initiative is called the Canopy Project, and it is seeking out casual users of ketami ne, shrooms (psilocybin), LSD, ayahuasca, ibogaine, and MDMA to participate. And unlike most previous studies, this one will focus on individuals who plan to use the drugs in their recreational lives — at home or at organized retreats — not in a lab setting."Psychedelics are widely used outside research labs, yet much of what we know about their effects comes from carefully controlled research settings," says lead researcher Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, who is a professor of neurology at UCSF. "CANOPY gives us an opportunity to bring scientific rigor to these experiences at a scale we haven't had before — to understand not just whether psychedelics can be beneficial, but for whom, under what circumstances, and why."Reflecting the priorities of Health Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been vocal about his support of the study of psychedelic therapies, the Canopy Project is one of three studies of psychedelics that were awarded a total of $8.5 million in funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the HHS Department.Interested parties in the Canopy Project can apply to participate by emailing [email protected], or finding more info here.Enrolled participants will be asked to complete standardized assessments before and after their planned psychedelic use, and for up to six months afterward, the researchers say."Depending on how much time you are willing to dedicate, there is a brief and easy and an optional more thorough version of the study," the researchers add."Those who can travel to UCSF will undergo brain imaging and EEG and provide blood and saliva samples before their planned psychedelic experiences; and they will use wearable devices to collect physiological data outside the lab," they explain.Other projects that received ARPA-H funding, as News-Medical Life Sciences reports, include a second one led by Dr. Carhart-Harris along with Jennifer Mitchell, PhD, which will examine how mindset and environment influence psychedelic effects. A third project, which received a $3.1 million grant, will study the effects of psychedelics on older adults with "low well-being and biomarkers associated with preclinical Alzheimer's disease." ...read more read less