Psychedelics for First Responders
Psychedelics are mind-bending, controversial, and illegal. And for medical professionals, firefighters, and police officers, they’re verboten. But as health care and law enforcement communities across the U.S. search for novel ways to deal with the mental and emotional anguish that has been wrought by the pandemic and the crushing toll daily work, many are considering psychedelic compounds as unexpected treatments for PTSD, moral distress, depression, and burnout. In this provocative panel, we’ll hear from three boundary-pushing professionals on the frontlines of health care and law enforcement, all of whom can speak from personal experience about the power and pitfalls of psychedelic medicine, and how it could transform their respective communities at a micro and macro level.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.
Anthony Back
University of Washington
Sarko Gergerian
Winthrop, MA Police Department
Caitlin Riley
Psychedelic Society of Texas
Elizabeth Willis
OPENurses