This site does not encourage illegal drug use. It is educational and safety-focused. If you are in distress, seek professional help.

Baseline Checklist

A simple standard for spotting hype and defining what "responsible" should mean.

If you only remember one thing from this site, make it this: the research people cite is about supervised therapy with guardrails and follow-up, not unsupervised self-experimentation.

This checklist is meant to slow down hype and give you a practical way to evaluate claims, programs, and narratives. It is not a guide to using substances. It is a guide to asking better questions and choosing safer next steps.

Key takeaways

  • If key guardrails are missing, the claim is not describing evidence-based care.
  • Responsible care includes aftercare, ethics, and equity, not just a supervised session.
  • The safest direction is legal, clinically supported pathways and professional help when needed.

The "Is this hype?" filter

If a claim does any of the following, treat it as hype until proven otherwise:

  • Promises a guaranteed outcome or a quick reset
  • Suggests "one session changes everything" without discussing follow-up
  • Skips risks, contraindications, or who should not do it
  • Uses only testimonials and personal stories as proof
  • Uses "natural" as a substitute for safety evidence
  • Frames unsupervised self-experimentation as equivalent to therapy
  • Treats intensity as the goal rather than stability and care

If you see two or more of these, pause and read before believing.

Minimum standards for anything calling itself "therapy"

For a model to resemble evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapy, it should clearly include:

A) Screening and suitability

  • A real screening process, not a waiver
  • Clear discussion of mental health history and medication risks
  • A plan for safety if distress occurs
  • Informed consent that includes limits and uncertainty

B) Preparation

  • Education about what to expect and what can go wrong
  • Tools for grounding and coping
  • Agreement on goals that are realistic and measurable
  • A plan for what happens after, not just during

C) Trained supervision

  • Trained staff present for safety and support
  • A controlled environment that prioritizes calm and monitoring
  • Clear boundaries and professional conduct
  • A method for responding to panic, confusion, or unsafe behavior

D) Integration and follow-up

  • Scheduled follow-up support, not optional "if you want"
  • Help translating insights into safe habits and treatment plans
  • Support for lingering anxiety, sleep disruption, or distress
  • Referral pathways if symptoms persist

If any one of these categories is missing, call it what it is: not therapy.

Safety and aftercare standards

Even if a clinic exists, responsible systems should also include:

  • Access to professionals who can respond to post-experience distress
  • Clear pathways for urgent support and referrals
  • Training for clinicians so fewer people get dismissed or misunderstood
  • Public messaging that discourages impulsive decisions

If public excitement rises faster than these supports, harm becomes predictable.

Ethical boundaries

A responsible public stance should:

  • Encourage legal, evidence-based pathways
  • Encourage professional help if someone is distressed
  • Avoid glamorizing language and avoid certainty
  • Be honest about who may be at higher risk

A responsible stance should not:

  • Provide instructions, sourcing, or step-by-step guidance for illegal use
  • Treat self-experimentation as a substitute for care
  • Pressure people with "everyone should try this" messaging

Equity and trust standards

Safety includes fairness. Ask these questions:

  • Is access affordable, or only available to wealthy people?
  • Are communities with historic harm treated as partners or as marketing targets?
  • Is research and care designed for diverse populations, languages, and contexts?
  • Are harms tracked and reported, or quietly ignored?

If equity is missing, "responsible" is incomplete.

What you can do with this checklist

Use this checklist to:

  • Evaluate online claims before you share them
  • Ask better questions when someone tells you a miracle story
  • Recognize when a "program" is missing key safeguards
  • Choose safer next steps

Safer next steps usually look like this:

  • Talk to a licensed healthcare professional about evidence-based options
  • Seek legal, clinically supervised pathways when available
  • If someone is struggling after an experience, prioritize professional support

Curiosity is normal. Structure is safety. Hype is not care.