Business

The Economics of Psychedelics

May 24, 2024
Featuring: Elliot Marseille, DrPH, MPP

In this episode, Joe interviews Elliot Marseille, DrPH, MPP: founding director of UC Berkeley’s Collaborative for the Economics of Psychedelics (CEP), a network of health economists and researchers analyzing the economics behind emerging psychedelic-assisted therapies.

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In this episode, Joe interviews Elliot Marseille, DrPH, MPP: founding director of UC Berkeley’s Collaborative for the Economics of Psychedelics (CEP), a network of health economists and researchers analyzing the economics behind emerging psychedelic-assisted therapies.

In the early days of drug research, efficacy was the leading factor in decision making, but as time has gone on, people are looking much more into the economics of everything: If a government is granted X amount of money, what should they spend it on that will be the most beneficial to the most people? How do you create models for future research and regulations based on the data we have now? Can there be a time in the near future when someone sits before Congress and says, “This is the exact societal cost of not making psychedelic therapy accessible”?

He discusses:

  • His early work with the SEVA Foundation, studying at the economics behind HIV/AIDS treatments in developing countries
  • His experiences working with Ram Dass and having a big psychedelic journey with Leo Zeff
  • His issues with the recent ICER (Institute for Clinical and Economic Review) report which said they couldn’t endorse MDMA-assisted psychotherapy
  • Why we need more studies tracking people for long periods after psychedelic therapy, specifically analyzing their healthcare utilization over time

and more!

Links

Center for Global Health: Delivery, Diplomacy & Economics

SEVA Foundation

Pieter Bruegel’s “The Peasant Dance”

University of California San Francisco: James G. Khan, MD, MPH

ICER.org

NPR.org: Transformation or trouble? Research into MDMA plagued with allegations of misconduct

Psychedelicalpha.com: Exclusive: Therapists and Trialists from Lykos’ Phase 3 MDMA-Assisted Therapy Studies Push Back on ICER’s Critical Draft Report

Hopkinsmedicine.org: Johns Hopkins Receives Grant for Psilocybin Research in Smoking Cessation

PT431 – The Concept of Integration and the Need for Evolving Protocols of Psychedelic Therapy, featuring: Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D.

The Psychedelic Health Equity Initiative

Elliot Marseille 3

In this Episode

Elliot Marseille, DrPH, MPP

Elliot Marseille, DrPH, MPP, is a leading expert on the economics of the emerging psychedelic-assisted therapies. He is the founding director of UC Berkeley’s Collaborative for the Economics of Psychedelics (CEP), a network of health economists and health services researchers dedicated to realizing the potential of psychedelic therapies for high-priority mental health conditions. Through the application of policy-relevant economic analyses, CEP seeks to enhance the efficiency, and increase access to these promising therapies. Among CEP’s current projects are analyses of the economics of psilocybin-assisted therapy for major depression, psilocybin for tobacco cessation, ibogaine for opioid use disorder and extended analyses of the economics of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. Dr Marseille has over 35 years of experience in senior public health management and research positions. In addition to the economics of psychedelic therapies, he has published widely on the economics of global health interventions, especially for HIV/AIDS.

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