Welcome to issue #11 of The Ethical Trip! This fortnight:

• How hard is it to certify psychedelic practitioners as ethical & safe?

• What is the moral significance of luck in a ‘fair’ society?

• Are there different kinds of burnout?

For all this, plus roundup of recent research and what High Times optimistically described as ‘a flair for humor’, read on!

On a personal note, the past month has been enormously challenging for my family & I. I’m deeply grateful for everyone who’s sent messages of support and helped out. Huge thanks also to the people showing appreciation of my work by contributing finically via buy me a coffee cactus. 

Table of Contents

1. Industry Insights:

   1. Research Round-up

   2. Certify This!

2. Philosophical Brief: Do you feel lucky?

3. Consultancy Corner: Burnout!

4. Reminder - Garden States!

5. A message from our sponsor:

Industry Insights:

Research Round-up

Filtering out the usual examples of reinventing the wheel, the past fortnight of psychedelic research gave us some interesting (by my idiosyncratic standards) papers & books.

Psychedelic Immortality: Nietzschean Perspectives on Reincarnation, Femtheogens, and Philosophy look’s like it’s going to be a worthwhile read, though possibly challenging for anyone not well-versed in Nietzsche. Personally, I am a little sceptical that it can fulfil its goal of showing that ‘situating education and democracy within the context of reincarnation can incite a renaissance of American culture and politics.’ But seriously, with a thesis like that, how can it not be interesting?!

In a more conventional vein, Im & Sandoe (2025) give a thorough update on where the emerging science of using psychedelics to treat a range of headache-related disorders is up to.

Brittain et al (2025) highlights the lack of consensus on competencies and training requirements for psychedelic practitioners and the need for better consultation with Indigenous and priority populations and more rigorous post-trial care of psychedelic trial participants.

On a related ethics note, Koenig-Robert, Keogh, & Pearson (2025) give some much-needed balance to discussion of using psychedelics to treat aphantasia. While there is emerging evidence that psychedelic use can enhance our visualisation abilities, this paper highlights situations where strong mental imagery is less helpful or potentially corelates with poor mental health.

Lots more good stuff below, but only for subscribers!