Amanda Feilding
Amanda Feilding, Countess of Wemyss and March, also known as Lady Neidpath, is an English drug policy reformer, lobbyists and research coordinator. She was branded the Countess of Psychedelic Science and seen as the ‘hidden hand’ behind it. In 1998 she founded the Foundation to Further Consciousness that was later renamed the Beckley Foundation. The charitable trust promotes a rational, evidence-based approach to global drug policies and initiates, directs and supports pioneering neuroscientific and clinical research into the effects of psychoactive substances on the brain and cognition.
Amanda has initiated much ground-breaking research and has co-authored over 50 scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals. She centres her research on investigating the use of psychedelics in the treatment of such mental illnesses as depression, anxiety and addiction, as well as exploring them as methods of enhancing well-being and creativity.
She collaborates with leading scientists and institutions around the world to on a wide range of scientific research projects investigating the effects of psychoactive substances on brain function, subjective experience, and clinical symptoms, with a focus on cannabis, psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, DMT, 5-MEO-DMT) and MDMA. She works closely with Dr Nutt and Dr Robin Carthart-Harris on The Beckley/Imperial Research Programme that has carried out pioneering brain imaging studies with psilocybin, MDMA, LSD and DMT, using fMRI and MEG. This groundbreaking research has not only shed light on the mechanisms of action and therapeutic potential of these substances, but also on consciousness itself. The research that Amanda has initiated has shown that psychedelics hold great promise in helping individuals with illnesses such as treatment-resistant depression and addiction.
Amanda continues to bridge the divide between science and drug policy. She brings together a network of scientists, politicians and drug policy analysts to create one scientific evidence base, to help reform global drug policies, to better protect the health, reduce harm and economic costs, and uphold human rights. Her psychedelic research is providing scientific evidence to fuel a fair debate on drug policy reform. Ultimately, the goal of her work is to make psychedelics and cannabis into approved medicines so that they can be legally prescribed at clinics for those in need.