Amanda Feilding

Amanda Feilding
Born
Amanda Claire Marian Feilding

(1943-01-30) 30 January 1943 (age 81)[1]
NationalityBritish
Other namesLady Neidpath
Occupation(s)Drug policy reformer, neuroscience researcher
Known forBeckley Foundation
Notable workHeartbeat in the Brain
TitleCountess of Wemyss and March (since 2008)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1995)​
Children2 sons (with Joseph Mellen)

Amanda Claire Marian Charteris, Countess of Wemyss and March (née Feilding; born 30 January 1943), also known as Amanda Feilding, is an English drug policy reformer, lobbyist,[2] and research coordinator. In 1998, she founded the Foundation to Further Consciousness, later renamed to the Beckley Foundation,[3] a charitable trust which initiates, directs, and supports neuroscientific and clinical research into the effects of psychoactive substances on the brain and cognition. She has also co-authored over 50 papers published in peer-reviewed journals, according to the Foundation.[4] The central aim of her research is to investigate new avenues of treatment for such mental illnesses as depression, anxiety, and addiction, as well as to explore methods of enhancing well-being and creativity.

Feilding has been a proponent of utilising the cognitive effects of cannabis since the 1960s. She has experimented with trepanning, drilling a hole into the skull to expose the dura mater, a technique used in some cultures to treat mental illness, and considered by some to provide a calming effect or a higher state of consciousness.[3]

Feilding is also a proponent of the use of LSD to trigger long-term improvements in creativity.[5]

Feilding received the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization’s Science Pioneer Award at the United Nations in 2022. The award, also recognised by the US Congress, highlights women entrepreneurs.[6][better source needed]

  1. ^ "Amanda Claire Marian Charteris". Companies House. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Amanda Feilding: 'LSD can get deep down and reset the brain – like shaking up a snow globe'". The Guardian. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b "The Countess of Cannabis". Bloomberg News. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  4. ^ "First Cannabis Clinical Trials All Set In UK". Cannabis Industry Journal. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2019. In 1998, Amanda Feilding set up the Beckley Foundation, a charitable trust which initiates, directs and supports neuroscientific and clinical research into the effects of psychoactive substances. She has also co-authored over 50 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals.
  5. ^ "The Beckley Foundation Intends to Study Links Between Microdosing LSD and Creativity". Forbes. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2019. I strongly suspect LSD, and other psychedelics if used responsibly, have the potential to enhance creativity. The brain imaging studies we carried out through the Beckley/Imperial Research Programme showed a remarkable increase in connectivity throughout the brain under LSD and psilocybin, which with further research may well prove to be linked with mental flexibility and enhanced creative thought.
  6. ^ Grace Meng (NY). "WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP DAY 2022". Congressional Record 117: 178 (November 17, 2022). p. E1163. https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2022/11/17/168/178/CREC-2022-11-17-pt1-PgE1163-4.pdf