Psychedelic Alpha

Last summer, Germany’s medicines regulator quietly green-lit a psilocybin compassionate use program, the first such pathway in the European Union (see Germany Establishes EU’s First Psilocybin Compassionate Access Program). Two centres are permitted to offer psilocybin dosing at present: OVID Clinic Berlin, a private clinic in the nation’s capital, and the Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) in Mannheim, a public hospital.

With most legislatures now adjourned, the 2026 psychedelic policy reform push has passed its peak. Of the 115 psychedelics-related bills we have tracked this year (108 state and 7 federal), 17 distinct measures have been signed into law; more than a quarter of those signings were in May alone. On the other side, 2 bills fell to Governor vetoes, 44 bills died with their sessions, and around 50 measures remain pending, at least on paper, largely in legislatures yet to adjourn.

Welcome to our second Field Note. As a reminder, Field Notes are timely, candid voice notes from our Founder and Editor, Josh Hardman, that provide our Pα+ readers with a pulse on recent developments in psychedelic drug development, policy, and access.

It’s been an incredibly busy few weeks since our last Bulletin, with Psychedelic Alpha on the road in the U.S. (for APA’s annual meeting and a visit to Stanford and the valley), The Real Mental Health Summit in London, and now the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research in Haarlem, the Netherlands. We have published a wealth of content since our last Bulletin, including our first audio dispatch.

Last month, our Editor, Josh Hardman, attended the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) five-day annual meeting in San Francisco. There, he took the temperature of a field that is struggling to make sense of its standing in American society, and that is now confronted with a class of potential therapeutics—psychedelics—that it can’t quite place.

Momentum Amidst Tumult: The FDA Reshuffle, Approval Timelines, and the Compass-Usona Race Last week, I (the Editor, Josh Hardman) returned from a trip to the U.S. West Coast, visiting San Francisco for the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting and Palo Alto, where I caught up with researchers, investors, and others close to the psychedelics field.

Today, we’re introducing Field Notes. Field Notes are timely, candid voice notes from our Founder and Editor, Josh Hardman, that provide our Pα+ readers with a pulse on the recent developments in psychedelic drug development, policy, and access in under fifteen minutes. Rather than publishing these audio clips on a set schedule, we will do so when our on-the-ground reporting and conversations with folks around the field may warrant one.

Interview Interview 22 May 2026 Dr. Mary Elizabeth “Bit” Yaden is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Johns Hopkins University and the clinical director of the Center for Psychedelics and Consciousness Research (CPCR).

Nora Volkow has been Director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) since 2003, making her one of the longest-serving Directors of a National Institute, perhaps second only to Anthony Fauci. During that time, and by her own admission, Volkow’s views on psychedelics have changed substantially, as larger datasets and more rigorous studies have emerged.

Analysis News Pα+ News 15 May 2026 Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) has now published its fourth and final dataset from 2025, with updates summarised in our Oregon Psilocybin Services Tracker. Covering July to December 2025, this recent release includes key insights into product sales, client motivations, safety updates, and the individuals and organisations shaping the OPS infrastructure.