Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the US ruled psychedelic drugs have no ‘currently accepted medical use’ and were placed in Schedule 1, the most stringent regulated category for controlled substances. This UN classification for membership comes in part by an admission by a former assistant to President Nixon that the administration lied about possible harmful effects of the substances as part of the ‘war on drugs.’ Learn more about why psychedelics should be reclassified.
Psychedelics Among Safest Substances
A 2010 analysis of harms to both recreational drug users and society ranked LSD and psilocybin among the safest of all studied substances. He dismissed popular perceptions of psychedelics’ harms as being mythical and rooted in propaganda. The belief psychedelics induce homicidal or suicidal behavior was believed to be politically driven and motivated. Studies have suggested the powerful, beneficial properties of psychedelics in treatment of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), cluster headaches and tobacco or alcohol addiction.
Studying Psilocybin
If researchers want to obtain psilocybin for clinical study, there is only one manufacturer in the world who can supply the drug with a prohibitive cost of more than $150,000 per gram, a quantity that provides 50 doses. The cost of licenses to legalize possession of psychedelics for clinical trial means studying the drugs costs an institution up to 10 times more than that of research into heroin which is less restricted and more harmful, some believe
Conclusion
Almost all grant funders are uncomfortable funding research into psychedelic drugs. As psychedelics are not harmful or addictive in comparison with other restricted drugs, the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs has been called upon to reclassify psychedelics as schedule 2 substances, which will enable a more comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of potential for therapeutic uses. This is not currently possible as much due to the highly regulated nature of the drugs.
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