Alaskans have limited access to medicinal and recreational psychedelics, but an upcoming conference, called Arctic Visions, will address ethical, cultural and logistical approaches to psychedelic practices. Organizers say the aim is to shift public perception and reduce stigma surrounding the use of psychedelics for therapy and personal growth.
Regina Randall founded and chairs the Alaska Entheogenic Awareness Council, which helped organize the conference. The organization supports the use of psychedelic plant medicines for personal healing and growth.
“What we’re focused on is shifting the narrative surrounding the use of these substances, because there’s still a big stigma that exists, and also many misconceptions about psychedelics,” Randall said.
Most psychedelics are illegal federally, but Randall said in the long run, she and the council believe psychedelics could help create healthier communities in the state.
“In time, with the right education and advocacy, we believe that we will be able to shift the public’s perception and eventually change laws here in Alaska surrounding the use of these medicines,” Randall said.
There is nothing new about psychedelics being used for personal growth and medicine, Randall said. Indigenous cultures have used them for thousands of years for healing, but after the late 1960s, legal restrictions stopped almost all formal psychedelic research in the United States.
Over the last two decades, U.S. scientists have been able to start studying the drugs again, but that research path hasn’t been smooth. Many experts expected the Food and Drug Administration to approve the psychedelic MDMA for treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, in August. Instead, the FDA asked for further studies.
Ana Verzone, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner trained in psychedelic therapy, who specializes in treating trauma, PTSD and depression, said she was disappointed by the FDA decision.
“It just really breaks my heart that we’re now going to have to wait even longer for this treatment to be available because we don’t have effective treatments for this right now,” Verzone said.
Verzone is a presenter at the conference. She said a small number of U.S. patients with life-threatening treatment-resistant PTSD can qualify for MDMA therapy without waiting for FDA approval. But she said applying for that program is a complex bureaucratic process, leaving many people without good options.
“We have marginally effective therapies for depression and anxiety, and psychedelic-assisted therapies provide an alternative that can be much more effective than what we currently have available,” Verzone said.
She added that psychedelic medicines aren’t right for everyone or for every mental health condition. But Verzone said she has faith that because the therapy has been effective for so many historically and in medical trials, the FDA will eventually approve it.
And psychedelic therapy with ketamine is already available in Alaska.
Heide Provencher, a nurse practitioner trained in psychiatric mental health, provides ketamine-assisted psychotherapy at a clinic in Anchorage. She said traditional pharmaceutical treatments help alleviate extreme symptoms of depression for many people, but leave them feeling what she describes as “meh.” And she said based on what she’s seen, more people can return to a normal range of emotion with ketamine treatments.
“There’s a large percentage of people that do respond really positively with ketamine treatments for a longer period of time, and it’s beyond ‘meh,’” Provencher said. “It’s actually bringing them back into a state of balance and experiencing joy.”
She said we don’t know exactly why psychedelic therapies work well for some people, but researchers think they may create a window of “neuroplasticity.” That’s a state during which it’s easier for the brain to create new ways of thinking about things. She said people who are depressed can get stuck in ways of thinking and ketamine can help shift those perspectives.
“It can create a kind of a mental shift, changing a mountain into a molehill,” Provencher said. “I’m not in that mountain; things look smaller from above.”
Ketamine is the only psychedelic treatment legal for all Alaskans that will be addressed at the psychedelic conference in Anchorage in August. Organizers plan to hold the conference annually through 2026.
RELATED: Alaska Legislature establishes psychedelic task force for FDA-approved therapies
Rachel Cassandra covers health and wellness for Alaska Public Media. Reach her atrcassandra@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Rachel here.
