Adverse events in studies of classic psychedelics: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The authors of this JAMA Psychiatry thorough meta-analysis comment: "Key Points: Question  What is the nature, frequency, and severity of adverse events (AEs) reported in studies of classic psychedelic administration in monitored clinical or research settings? Findings  Reports of serious AEs (SAEs) and nonserious AEs (NSAEs) requiring medical or psychiatric attention in classic psychedelic research were rare. In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 3504 participants from 114 studies, SAEs were reported for no healthy participants and approximately 4% of participants with preexisting neuropsychiatric disorders; however, for most studies, there was concern for underdetection or incomplete AE reporting. Meaning  Classic psychedelics were generally well tolerated in clinical or research environments according to existing literature, although SAEs and medically significant NSAEs did occur, which demonstrates the importance of improved pharmacovigilance to understand and quantify the risk and benefit profiles of classic psychedelic substances."

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