[Editorial] Psychedelics: after the renaissance

20 years ago, The Lancet published an Editorial on reviving research into psychedelics for mental health conditions, observing that “the blanket ban on psychedelic drugs enforced in many countries continues to hinder safe and controlled investigation, in a medical environment, of their potential benefits”. The Lancet of 2006 could not have foreseen that one day a president of the USA would sign an executive order aiming to “dramatically accelerate access to new medical research and treatments based on psychedelic drugs”.