Key Dates

Related Announcements

• November 04, 2022 - Urgent Competitive Revision to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Urgent Supplement - Clinical Trial Optional).  See NOFO PA-23-044.
• January 10, 2022 - Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed).  See NOFO PAR-22-060.
• January 10, 2022 - Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools (R15 Clinical Trial Required).  See NOFO PAR-21-357.
• May 19, 2021 - Academic Research Enhancement Award for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PAR-21-155.
• May 19, 2021 - Academic Research Enhancement Award for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Required). See NOFO PAR-21-154.
• May 7, 2020 - NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PA-20-200.
• May 07, 2020 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PA-20-195.
• May 07, 2020 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Required).  See NOFO PA-20-194.
• May 05, 2020 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PA-20-185.
• May 05, 2020 - Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required). See NOFO PA-20-183.   

Issued by

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Purpose

The purpose of this notice of special interest (NOSI) is to inform potential applicants to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of special interest in grant applications that examine the impact of changing state and local psychedelic and dissociative drug policies.

Background

Psychedelic and dissociative drugs (also commonly known as hallucinogens) are a class of psychoactive substances that alter people's perception, mood, and cognitive processes.  Whereas many psychedelic drugs are derived from plants and fungi, others are made in labs (i.e., “synthetic”).  This category of substances includes psychedelic drugs that primarily influence the way the brain processes the chemical serotonin (e.g., psilocybin; LSD; N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT); mescaline; and NBOMes); dissociative drugs that primarily affect how the brain processes the chemical glutamate (e.g., ketamine and PCP); and other drugs which cause psychedelic and/or dissociative effects (e.g., MDMA, ibogaine, and salvia).

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled most psychedelic and dissociative drugs as Schedule I Controlled Substances. (This does not include Ketamine which is a Schedule III drug).  Substances in this schedule have no currently accepted medical use in the U.S., are unsafe even when used under medical supervision, and have a high potential for abuse.  Even so, in 2021, 2.6% of individuals ages 12 and older and 8% of young adults ages 19 to 30 reported using “hallucinogens” in the past 12 months.

Recently, state policy around psychedelic and dissociative drugs also has been changing rapidly.  States, and in some cases cities, have taken a variety of approaches that include legalization, decriminalization, reduced penalties, and more.  Between January 2019 and September 2022, 25 states considered 74 different bills dealing with psychedelic drugs.  Two states have enacted statutes legalizing and regulating psychedelics.  In November 2020, Oregon became the first state to legalize the manufacturing, transportation, delivery, sale, and purchase of psilocybin products and the provision of psilocybin-assisted services.  On January 2, 2023, the state began accepting applications for licensure and expect new psilocybin service centers to begin offering psilocybin services in 2023. Similarly, Colorado legalized psychedelics on November 8, 2022, allowing for the creation of state sanctioned “healing centers” with the licensing process beginning by September 2024.  Although the healing centers are currently only approved to distribute psilocybin and psilocyn, this would be expanded to include DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline (excluding peyote) in June 2026.

Priority Research Areas for NIDA

This NOSI encourages, but is not limited to, applications that examine:

• The relation between decriminalization or legalization of psychedelic and dissociative drugs and rates of use among different populations.
• The relation between the use of psychedelic and dissociative drugs and public health outcomes, harms, and abuse potential.
• The impact of different regulatory frameworks (e.g., taxation, labeling, retail sales, pricing, marketing, etc.) on different health and incarceration outcomes, particularly among vulnerable populations (e.g., youth, people with substance use disorders, as well as other minority or disenfranchised groups).
• The placement of retailers and centers to use psychedelic and dissociative drugs and the impact on the surrounding communities.
  • How this differs compared to retailers and on-premises locations for the purchase and use of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis.
• The similarities and differences between psychedelic and dissociative drug use and abuse potential compared to other products such as alcohol, tobacco or cannabis.
• The prevention of psychedelic misuse (i.e., use outside the purposes outlined by the centers) or diversion of psychedelic or dissociative drugs for use by people who are not at the centers.
• The long-term impacts of supervised psychedelic or dissociative drug use within centers on seeking and misusing other substances (e.g., alcohol, cannabis, illicit substances, unregulated psychedelic or dissociative drugs, etc.).
• The perceptions of harm of psychedelic or dissociative drugs following policy enactments and implementation. 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss potential applications with the Scientific/Research Contact listed below before submitting their application.

 Application and Submission Information

This notice applies to due dates on or after October 5, 2023 and subsequent receipt dates through September 8, 2026. 

Submit applications for this initiative using one of the following notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) or any reissues of these announcements through the expiration date of this notice.

• PA-20-183 - Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required) 
• PA-20-185 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-20-194 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Required)
• PA-20-195 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-20-200 - NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PAR-21-154 - Academic Research Enhancement Award for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Required)
• PAR-21-155 - Academic Research Enhancement Award for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PAR-21-357 - Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools (R15 Clinical Trial Required)
• PAR-22-060 - Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-23-044 - Urgent Competitive Revision to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Urgent Supplement -  Clinical Trial Optional)  

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the NOFO used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:

• For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-DA-24-010” (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form.  Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.

Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will not be considered for the NOSI initiative.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to the Scientific/Research, Peer Review, and Financial/Grants Management contacts in Section VII of the listed notice of funding opportunity.

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Elyse R. Grossman
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Email: elyse.grossman@nih.gov