Southern Utah University’s Interdisciplinary Psychedelics Information Exchange club discusses the uses of psychedelics and alternative mental health treatments, though they do not condone the uses of such substances.
Piper Deamer, senior at SUU and one of the club’s founders, says the club aims to share research-backed information on alternative fields and bring awareness.
“We want to bring awareness to the usefulness and potential power of these drugs while also treating them with the respect they deserve and attempting to destigmatize the ones coming into the mainstream, such as ketamine,” Deamer said. “We also share information on psychedelics that are unhelpful to show the difference in each one, the mechanisms, and the dangers you can come across in this field.”
Deamer was inspired to create IPIE by talks she and other students briefly discussed in Professor McFadden’s abnormal psychology class at SUU.
“My cohorts Greg Avalos and Bridger Nicholson began the plan to create a club to discuss psychedelic-assisted therapies, and I helped get it off the ground,” said Deamer.
The club started shortly after completing the course in spring of 2022. They took the summer to plan, and it was up and running by the end of the year
Before meetings, club leaders send an email detailing what topic will be focused on that week. They share a link to a video, an academic article or even a podcast that will be discussed at the meetings.
During meetings, club members have the floor to share their ideas about the content and discuss the future of psychedelics when it comes to mental health
“It is interdisciplinary, so we love perspectives outside of psychology,” said Deamer. “My co-president, Stephon Gilbert-Ouahib, is majoring in anthropology, so he brings a different perspective from myself, majoring in psychology.”
The club has had biology, chemistry, and even theater majors join and share their unique backgrounds. They each work together to break down the academics of it all and learn what goes into the effectiveness of these treatments.
IPIE gives its members a space to talk and raise concerns about the emerging field. It is a collectivist club, and everyone plays a significant role in disseminating information and sharing unique perspectives. Over the years, people have grown close, and the environment is light.
However, people outside the club don’t always feel the same.
“We have been on pretty thin ice since the beginning because, of course, the use of almost all of these psychedelics is still very illegal,” said Deamer. “We have never once shared illegal information that was not based purely on academics and research, and it is hard for people to understand that we are not sitting around in a circle telling stories about recreational drug use.”
Deamer says that people are quick to judge once they hear the word psychedelic, which is why they are aiming to destigmatize a lot of the information.
“With ketamine therapy becoming increasingly more popular, it is important to us to know there are similar medical benefits to be found in other psychedelics when utilized correctly and professionally,” said Deamer.
Cynthia Barlow, a junior at SUU and member of the club, shares her favorite part of being in IPIE.
“I like how approachable and welcoming everybody is, there are varying degrees of knowledge and we all learn from each other… I hope we can get more people interested in the club so that we can go on field trips to conferences in the future,” Barlow says.
The club hopes to find a new president to carry on the conversation. With new research coming out on these drugs it is something they hope to get others interested in.
“There is a huge market for alternatives to man-made pharmaceuticals since there are a lot of people out there with treatment-resistant mental health disorders, and it can be a scary world navigating academic information,” Deamer stated. “We have always wanted to make it digestible for the everyday person. The conversation has been started by a lot of our club members, and we hope to see more folks join in in the future.”
For more information on the IPIE club visit @ipie_cedarcity on Instagram. Meetings are every Tuesday from 4 to 5 p.m. in room 304 of the General Classrooms building.
Author: Amanda Flowers
Editor: Heather Turner
Photos courtesy of IPIE
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