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Rabbi Zac Kamenetz has long been interested in psychedelics, despite growing up being terrified of drugs. How the rabbi viewed psychedelics shifted after his first experience with psilocybin in 2017, during an NYU and Johns Hopkins study for religious professionals.
Since then, his interest in the substances has continued to grow, even inspiring him to set up a non-profit in 2020.
The non-profit in question, Shefa, educates members of the Jewish community about the rewards and risks associated with using psychedelics. Last month, Shefa announced that it’d be collaborating with Emory University to investigate the perspective of Jewish Americans on psychedelic drugs.
The Director of Research Projects in Spiritual Health at Emory University, Roman Palitsky, stated that it was crucial to determine how stigmatized these drugs were in this community as there was no data on this.
This development comes as the use of psychedelics in the U.S. continues increasing, with studies unearthing more about the potential of these substances in managing a range of mental conditions.
The study’s objective is to address concerns that psychedelic use may go against Jewish theology, creativity, and community while also finding out why individuals were using these substances. In a statement, Kamenetz emphasized that they would not be administering any psychedelics to participants, and neither were they condemning or condoning those who used the drugs.
He estimates that about one million Jewish American adults use these substances. Despite this considerable number, very few are able to discuss the use of psychedelics for spiritual experiences in the community as the topic is seen as taboo by religious leaders.
The study, dubbed Jewish Journeys, hopes to examine 1500 participants, some of whom are curious about psychedelics, others who’ve tried the substances and those who are skeptical about them.
Each participant will take part in a survey containing questions about their experiences with and beliefs about psychedelics. Investigators plan to conduct in-depth follow-up interviews, focusing on psychedelics like psilocybin, LSD, mescaline, ketamine, ibogaine, and MDMA. Survey questions include whether respondents believe psychedelics are addictive, good for society, and more dangerous than alcohol.
The survey also asks questions on spirituality and Judaism, in addition to asking those who’ve used the drugs how they prepared for their trip and whether they had negative or positive experiences.
The research is being funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation, through its research and development wing, Common Era. The organization explores new ways to connect with young members of the Jewish community who may otherwise be disconnected.
Learning more about how the psychedelic space interacts with the Jewish community may allow institutions to better serve individuals. This information can also be beneficial to start-ups like Compass Pathways PLC (NASDAQ: CMPS) that are looking to develop psychedelic medicines for the mainstream market.
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