Promoting compassionate governance

Preventing intense suffering

The Organisation for the Prevention of Intense Suffering (OPIS) is a non-profit think-and-do tank promoting a shift in global decision-making priorities towards the prevention and alleviation of the intense suffering of all sentient beings.

COMPASSIONATE GOVERNANCE

We develop and communicate guiding principles for compassionate governance and systemic change, so that the prevention and alleviation of intense suffering are given highest priority.

SOLUTIONS TO SUFFERING

We promote effective, evidence-based solutions to specific causes of suffering in both humans and non-human animals.

Latest News

  • Health Canada provides legal access to psilocybin for first cluster headache patient

    On 20 June 2024, OPIS issued a press release announcing the good news that, as a result of a partnership we initiated 3 years ago with the non-profit TheraPsil, Health Canada has provided legal access to psilocybin for the first cluster headache patient. Canada now joins Switzerland as one of the few countries where cluster…

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  • Webinar discussion: a vision for building a compassionate future for Israel and Palestine

    On 17 January 2024, OPIS hosted a webinar discussion with four visionary peace-builders from Israel and Palestine who share the conviction that peace is possible and have concrete plans for how to get there. Maoz Inon is an Israeli peace entrepreneur whose parents were killed by Hamas in the October 7 attack.Hiba Husseini is the…

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  • Essay on building a compassionate future for Israel and Palestine

    A new essay by Jonathan Leighton from OPIS was published today with thoughts on how to move forward towards a peaceful future for Israel and Palestine, despite the horrific violence taking place and the polarised narratives around the situation. The essay communicates some core ideas that are central to OPIS’s mission: that preventing intense suffering is…

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  • New book: The Tango of Ethics

    The Tango of Ethics: Intuition, Rationality and the Prevention of Suffering by OPIS Executive Director Jonathan Leighton is being published today. From the publisher’s website: Despite existing for thousands of years, the field of ethics remains strongly influenced by several largely unquestioned assumptions and cognitive biases that can dramatically affect our priorities. The Tango of Ethics:…

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  • Front-Page Story in Swiss Daily 20 Minutes Mentioning OPIS

    A front-page story mentioning OPIS in the widely circulated Swiss daily paper 20 Minutes on 26 August 2022 features Juan-Pablo, a patient suffering from the extremely painful neurological disorder SUNCT. The story describes how ayahuasca saved his life when other treatments had failed and he had already attempted suicide. OPIS provided advice and support to Juan-Pablo,…

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  • OPIS Partnership with TheraPsil to Support Cluster Headache Patients in Canada in Accessing Psilocybin

    OPIS is pleased to announce that it established a partnership earlier this year with TheraPsil to support cluster headache patients in Canada in accessing psilocybin. TheraPsil is a Canadian non-profit organisation that has already successfully petitioned the Canadian government to provide section 56 exemptions to end-of-life patients so that they can legally use psilocybin for the medical…

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  • OPIS Policy Paper on Legalising Psilocybin for Cluster Headaches

    OPIS has released a policy paper that calls for legalising access to psilocybin and related substances for the treatment of cluster headaches, one of the most excruciating conditions known to medicine. Policy recommendations include allowing doctors to prescribe currently restricted substances such as psilocybin, LSD, DMT and 5-MeO-DALT to patients with cluster headaches and ensuring…

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