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Spring 2027
Psychedelic Drugs in Science and Society
Explores the science of psilocybin and LSD, covering medicinal chemistry, neuropharmacology, FDA approval, clinical research, and the history of regulation and indigenous use.
offering recorded2 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Lucas Richert
Summary
What you’ll be able to do
Describe the roles of psychedelic compounds in the traditional rituals of indigenous peoples, and the impact of psychedelic tourism upon these native societies and their environment.
Describe the history and rationale for the regulation and prohibition of these compounds in the past century.
Describe the similarities between efforts to decriminalize cannabis and psychedelics, including pros and cons for each position.
Describe the path by which psychedelic drugs may be proposed to the FDA for approval drugs, and rescheduled by the DEA.
Identify the basic chemical structures of the most common psychedelic tryptamines and phenethylamines, and their usual pharmacologic targets in the brain.
Describe and critique examples of the research literature on the human use of psilocybin and LSD for the treatment of diseases such as depression and substance abuse disorders, including proposed metrics of effect.
Describe the usual screening, preparation, and care of a subject receiving psilocybin, and the expected skills, training, and role of the attending clinicians.
Describe the relationship of psychedelic treatment to other methods of care such as meditation, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗ average GPA
00 letter grades
No recorded grade history.
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Prerequisites
Course mapDeclared in MS Pharmaceutical Sciences: Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation or Capstone Certificate in Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation
- Declared in MS Pharmaceutical Sciences: Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation or Capstone Certificate in Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Declared in MS Pharmaceutical Sciences: Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation or Capstone Certificate in Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation
Professors
Spring 2027Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | Online Only | 0 / 100 | 0 |
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Overview of the science behind therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and LSD; basic medicinal chemistry of the tryptamine and phenethylamine psychedelics, as well as the neurochemistry and neuropharmacology of their action. Fundamentals of drug development and FDA approval process; Standards of screening and guiding individuals before and during a therapeutic psychedelic session contrasted with the recreational use of these drugs; Appraisal of current clinical research including an objective analysis of risk/benefit for indications such as depression and addiction. History of traditional, ceremonial use of psychedelics, as well as the relationship between recreational use and attempts to regulate and restrict their use. Role of psychedelics in indigenous cultures, impacts of psychedelic tourism and wild-crafting of plants and animals on indigenous peoples. Contrasts in psychedelic treatments to other therapeutic interventions such as mindfulness and meditation.
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- Medicinal chemistry and neuropharmacology of tryptamine and phenethylamine psychedelics.
- Drug development fundamentals and the FDA approval process.
- Clinical research appraisal and risk/benefit analysis for depression and addiction.
- Indigenous cultural roles of psychedelics and impacts of tourism and wild-crafting.
- Comparison of psychedelic treatments with mindfulness and meditation.
Skills
- Identify basic chemical structures of psychedelic tryptamines and phenethylamines and their pharmacologic targets.
- Critique research literature on psilocybin and LSD treatments for depression and substance abuse disorders.
- Analyze risk/benefit of psychedelic clinical research for indications like depression and addiction.
Grades
Instructor
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Sources & history
UW–Madison
Catalog & offerings
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Catalog observation history
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Selected offering source records
Psychedelic Drugs in Science and Society
Recorded 2026-10-14Raw records
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"term_id": "1274",
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"source_subject_id": "718",
"title": "Psychedelic Drugs in Science and Society",
"credits_min": 2,
"credits_max": 2,
"typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
}
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Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesDataset & model
View the dataset on Hugging Face Recorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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