Faculty Group to Oversee Research With Psilocybin

A Faculty committee will be named this week to "advise and oversee" future research in psilocybin, according to Richard Alpert, assistant professor of Clinical Psychology. His work with the consciousness-expanding drug was sharply criticized by his colleagues two months ago.

The committee will draft a set of ground rules covering the procedure and administration of the psilocybin project at the Center for Research in Personality. Then it will submit this document to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the University Health Services.

At a meeting April 11, Department investigators and those involved from Harvard generally agreed that such a Faculty group should oversee future use of the drugs in accordance with State regulations.

State officials have already agreed to let the psilocybin research continue and have directed only that a physician be present to administer the drug. He need not remain for the rest of the experiment. Previously, Alpert and his partner, Timothy Leary, lecturer on, Clinical Psychology, maintained that it was sufficient to have a physician on call during the experiments.

Alpert said last week that he expects to announce the members of the committee in a few days. He, Dr. John P. Spiegel, associate clinical professor of Psychiatry, and other members of the Center probably will serve on the committee along with representatives from the Health Services and other areas of the Faculty.

Alpert commented that because he and Leary had not planned much research using the drug this spring, the controversy in the Center did not seriously delay their work. Although the two have continued using psilocybin in prisons, they have been unable to work with the drugs in University research since colleagues first questioned the administration, attitude, and usefulness of the project in March. Since then, the UHS has taken possession of most of the pills.

The committee will decide when the Harvard psilocybin project will be resumed.

"We hope," said Alpert, "to establish guidelines to make us and the rest of the University comfortable about the project."