Psilocin ester prodrugs and psilocin salts may offer simpler and more stable alternatives to current medical-grade psilocybin production. A library of 15 psilocin ester prodrugs and six psilocin salts was synthesized and evaluated for ease of synthesis, chemical stability, and metabolic conversion. Several compounds showed desirable storage and handling stability and rapid metabolic conversion to psilocin, with potential advantages over psilocybin. These findings introduce viable options for future development in psilocybin therapy.
Psychedelic therapies face layered complexity from interactions between pharmacological and extra-pharmacological factors, and their embeddedness in societal, legal, and regulatory systems. This is compounded by epistemic fragmentation: dominant biomedical paradigms often clash with knowledge from social sciences, humanities, or Indigenous traditions. Though interdisciplinary engagement is increasingly recognized as necessary, existing calls rarely specify structural or pedagogical conditions for operationalizing it. Addressing these complexities requires moving beyond superficial collaboration; genuine interdisciplinary progress needs researchers capable of productive friction across epistemic cultures. The authors propose cultivating T-shaped competencies and intersectoral training as a structural response to these systemic challenges.