This article was made possible thanks to research from Calyx Law, the Emerge Group and Psilocybin Alpha.
As psychedelics like LSD, ayahuasca and magic mushrooms come rushing back into the public conversation, a few simple questions come up after discussing the potential of these substances in treating a wide variety of mental health disorders:
Contents
What Are Psychedelics?
Are Psychedelics Legal In The U.S.?
Where Are Psychedelics Allowed In The U.S.?
Where Are Psychedelics Being Considered For Legalization?
Wait, What Are Psychedelics?
Psychedelic is a broad term that encompasses a few different substances, some of which enjoy decriminalization or low-level law enforcement in certain jurisdictions around the country.
Psychedelics are usually described as drugs capable of producing non-ordinary states of consciousness.
While there are hundreds of natural and synthetic substances that can fall into the general definition of mind-altering drugs, most people refer to some compounds in particular when speaking of psychedelics:
LSD, or Lysergic Acid Diethylamide. Street names: acid, mellow yellow.
Psilocybin, a compound naturally produced by Psilocybe mushrooms. Street names: magic mushrooms, shrooms.
Mescaline, naturally found in the Peyote and San Pedro cacti.
DMT, or dimethyltryptamine, is a compound found in ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian concoction used in shamanic rituals.
Ibogaine, naturally produced by the iboga plant, a shrub native to West Africa.
5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic toxin produced by the Sonoran Desert Frog and some plants. Street name: toad venom.
MDMA. This empathogen can be considered a drug of a different category from the classic psychedelics listed above, but its often grouped within this definition. Street names: ecstasy, molly.
Are Psychedelics Legal In The U.S.?
As a general rule, all of the substances listed above are considered Schedule 1 substances by the federal government and are therefore illegal to produce, sell, possess or consume without special government authorization.
Story continues
Although scheduled, every one of these substances is currently under clinical research and most are expected to become approved in the coming years as psychiatric medication for specific mental health indications.
In the meantime, some U.S. jurisdictions have passed legislation reducing law enforcement of some psychedelic substances, allowing for the use and possession of small amounts of these drugs.
Exception: The Case Of Ketamine
Ketamine is a dissociative drug originally approved as an anesthetic in 1970. In recent decades, its psychedelic-like effects were discovered to produce a reduction in depression symptoms.
While ketamine is only officially approved as an anesthetic, physicians are allowed to prescribe it off-label for the treatment of depression and other mental disorders.
This has placed ketamine at the forefront of the psychedelics movement, as a prescribable drug that can be legally administered at clinics under physician supervision.
Where Are Psychedelics Allowed In The U.S.?
Using Psilocybin Alphas Psychedelic Legalization & Decriminalization Tracker, we compiled a list of U.S. jurisdictions where psychedelics are allowed.
Oregon
In November 2020, Oregon became the first U.S. state to eliminate criminal penalties for all illegal drugs including cocaine, heroin, oxycodone and methamphetamine, as well as every psychedelic substance like LSD, psilocybin and MDMA.
Possession of small amounts of these substances were made a Class E violation, instead of a misdemeanor. This reduces penalties to a $100 fine or the option to enlist in one of the states Addiction and Recovery Centers.
Additionally, in the same 2020 ballot Oregonians voted to launch a program for the therapeutic use of psilocybin, creating the countrys first state-licensed psilocybin-assisted therapy system.
The program, currently in development, will allow patients over the age of 21 to buy, possess and use psilocybin under the supervision of trained facilitators, while manufacture, delivery and administration of psilocybin will be allowed at supervised, licensed facilities.
California: Santa Cruz and Oakland
While the state of California still places a ban on scheduled psychedelic molecules, two cities within its borders have passed resolutions preventing the city from spending resources in imposing criminal penalties for the use and possession of entheogenic plants and fungi.
In both Santa Cruz and Oakland, personal use, possession and cultivation of plants like iboga, mescaline cacti, the ingredients in ayahuasca as well as psilocybin mushrooms are classified among the lowest law enforcement priorities. In Oakland, purchasing, transporting and distributing these natural psychedelics fall into the same category.
District of Columbia
Similar measures were passed in Washington D.C., where psychedelic plants and fungi became decriminalized in November 2020.
Non-commercial planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, and/or possessing entheogenic plants and fungi are considered lowest enforcement priorities by the DC Metropolitan Police, banning the investigation and arrest of persons 18 years of age or older for these practices.
Colorado: Denver
Denver became the first U.S. jurisdiction to reduce penalties on psilocybin mushrooms in May 2019. Psilocybin mushrooms are among the lowest law enforcement priority, preventing law enforcement from using Denver city funds for criminalizing the personal use and possession of these fungi.
Michigan: Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor is currently the only city in the American Midwest where cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, or possessing natural psychedelics is not criminalized.
Entheogenic plants or plant compounds, which are on the Federal Schedule 1 are a lowest law enforcement priority, meaning that city funds or resources shall not be used in any investigation, detention, arrest, or prosecution and that the district attorney must cease prosecution of persons involved in the use of entheogenic plants or plant-based compounds.
Massachusetts: Somerville, Cambridge and Northampton
In January 2021, the Boston suburb of Somerville passed a legislation wherein no city funds or resources shall be used to assist in the enforcement of laws imposing criminal penalties for the use and possession of entheogenic plants by adults.
Soon after, neighboring cities of Cambridge and Northampton adopted the same legislation, which states that the investigation and arrest of adult persons for planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, and/or possessing entheogenic plants shall be amongst the lowest law enforcement priority, calling upon the District Attorney to cease prosecution of persons involved in these practices.
Where Are Psychedelics Being Considered For Legalization?
Federal legislation decriminalizing psychedelic substances does not appear to be on the horizon despite the approval of specific psychedelic substances for medical use via the FDA clinical trial pipeline.
In late July, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reintroduced an amendment to remove federal barriers to research the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances. The measure was widely rejected by the House, although floor support grew from a previous introduction of the same measure in 2019.
However, several U.S. states have recently passed legislation that calls for research around psychedelic molecules. Other states have bills in congress that could enact further measures around psychedelic legalization.
In California, a bill is being considered that would remove penalties for the possession, personal use and social sharing of certain natural and synthetic psychoactive drugs including psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, LSD, ketamine and MDMA.
The bill passed a Senate vote and is currently on track to the Assembly floor. In a recent interview with Benzinga, Sen. Scott Wiener, the bills main sponsor, said he is in favor of full drug decriminalization and this measure is a first step toward that goal.
In 2021, Connecticut and Texas approved bills that launched working groups to study the medical use of psilocybin. In Texas, MDMA and Ketamine are also being studied for the same purpose, with military veterans as the main target group for these therapies.
A similar resolution to study the therapeutic potential of psilocybin was introduced in Hawaii, where a separate senate bill to deschedule psilocybin is also under consideration. In an interview, Hawaii Senator Stanley Chang told us that the goal of the bill is to remove psilocybin and psilocin from the list of Schedule I substances and require Hawaiis Department of Health to establish treatment centers for the therapeutic administration of these compounds.
Measures involving the decriminalization of psychedelics have also been introduced in a number of other state legislatures, including Florida, where a psilocybin legalization bill died in the senate. In Illinois, a bill to loosen restrictions on entheogenic plants was introduced but never made it to a floor vote.
Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Vermont and New York currently have active bills in their legislature that could bring different levels of decriminalization to certain psychedelic substances. In the Empire State, a bill introduced by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal would establish a psychedelic research institute and a therapeutic research program to study and provide recommendations on the use of psychedelic substances.
As investors, scientific institutions and the general public grow more knowledgeable and interested in the medicinal potential of psychedelics, more states and jurisdictions are expected to roll out further bills and legislative moves that will hopefully open access to psychedelics in different ways across the country.
Ms contenido sobre psicodlicos en Espaol en El Planteo.
Photo: Morgan Lane on Unsplash
See more from Benzinga
2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Continue reading here:
- Review: Tripping on Utopia Complicates the History of Psychedelics - AOL - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Psychedelics Are Going Mainstream. Investing in Them Hasn't. - The Wall Street Journal - January 7th, 2024 [January 7th, 2024]
- Another Study Shows African Psychedelic Plant Ibogaine Treats Traumatic Brain Injury in Vets With 'Dramatic' Results - Good News Network - January 7th, 2024 [January 7th, 2024]
- Massachusetts Lawmakers Will Be Forced To Consider Psychedelics Legalization Measure That Activists Petitioned ... - Marijuana Moment - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- VA to begin researching psychedelics as treatment option for veterans - Government Executive - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- VA Is Funding New Research On Psychedelics' Benefits For Veterans With PTSD And Depression - Marijuana Moment - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- VA ramps up study of psychedelic to treat PTSD - The American Legion - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Scientists predict DMT trip from cardiac activity - Big Think - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- If psychedelics heal, how do they do it? | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - pnas.org - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Psychedelics for acquired brain injury: a review of molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential | Molecular ... - Nature.com - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- U.S. Rep. Correa supports using psychedelics to treat veterans with PTSD - New Santa Ana - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- DEA Confirms That Psychedelic Mushroom Spores Are Federally Legal Prior To Germination - Marijuana Moment - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Psychedelics for Psych Conditions Made Their Mark in 2023 - Medpage Today - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- 2023: A Good Trip Around the Sun for Psychedelics - The National Law Review - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Understanding the Role of the FDA in Advancing Psychedelic Therapy - Medriva - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- MAPS PBC Closes $100m Series A, Rebrands to Lykos Therapeutics - Psychedelic Alpha - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Closing the innovation gap: Advancing psychedelic therapy and medicines in EU mental health care - Open Access Government - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- The Austin Chronic: SXSW Is High on Psychedelics, as Cannabis Programming Wanes - Austin Chronicle - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- This Forgotten Psychedelic Could Revolutionize Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment - Inverse - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- A 'milestone' for psychedelics: Pentagon directed to study alternative treatments for veterans - Washington Times - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Psychedelic Drugs Are Rushing Towards Approval for Therapy. Here's What's Next - Singularity Hub - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- The top 8 psychedelic books you need to read | GreenState - GreenState - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Lykos Therapeutics Secures $100M in Series A Funding, Rebrands from MAPS PBC - Green Market Report - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- DEA Calls For Even More THC, Psilocybin And DMT To Be Produced For Research In 2024 - Marijuana Moment - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Here's What You Missed in Cannabis, Psychedelics This Week - TipRanks.com - TipRanks - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- You're not tripping: State and local leaders give psychedelics another chance - Route Fifty - December 22nd, 2023 [December 22nd, 2023]
- Are Consciousness-Expanding Psychedelics Like Psilocybin More Effective Than Prozac, Zoloft, Xanax, and Other ... - Nautilus - December 22nd, 2023 [December 22nd, 2023]
- RFK, Ramaswamy And Williamson Push Psychedelics Reform On Presidential Campaign Trail - Marijuana Moment - December 22nd, 2023 [December 22nd, 2023]
- Peyote is the darling of the psychedelics renaissance. Indigenous users say it co-opts a sacred way of life - The Guardian US - December 22nd, 2023 [December 22nd, 2023]
- USask researchers explore untold history of psychedelics - News - University of Saskatchewan - USask News - December 22nd, 2023 [December 22nd, 2023]
- California Governor Says Psychedelics Have 'Profound' Healing Potential, But He's Undecided On Legalization Bill As ... - Marijuana Moment - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- As psychedelic-assisted therapy grows, so does interest from a new group: chaplains - NPR - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- This Maine City Moves Unanimously On Decriminalizing Psychedelics: Focus On Public Health - Benzinga - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Tech Leaders Are Finding Balance Through Microdosing Psychedelics - The Dales Report - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Chronic Pain Can Be Treated by Psychedelics, Survey Suggests - Psychedelic Spotlight - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Insights Into the First Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Guidelines With ... - Psychedelic Spotlight - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Living with long-term cancer is depressing. Texas doctors say psychedelics could help - The Hill - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- Couples Are Doing MDMA and Ketamine Therapy To Save Their Relationships - VICE - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- The Way People Are Using Psychedelics Is Changing Amid Reform ... - Marijuana Moment - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- [WATCH] Turn on, tune in, legalise: Could psychedelics be next in ... - MaltaToday - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- Will Psychedelics Be Rescheduled After FDA Approval? - Harris Bricken - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- The Psychedelic Preparedness Scale: A Tool to Optimize Trip ... - Filter - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- How to Test Psychedelics for Adulterants with Testing Kits - Psychedelic Spotlight - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- Cannabis Science Conference to debut in Providence, R.I., with ... - GlobeNewswire - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- New Speaker Rivas weighs in on psychedelics, housing and health care worker minimum wage - Yahoo News - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- TDR's Top 5 Psychedelic Developments For The Week Of July 10 - The Dales Report - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- Psychedelic Treatment with Psilocybin Relieves Major Depression, Study ... - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- Johns Hopkins Launches Center For Psychedelic Research - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- Psilocybin Treatment for Major Depression Effective for Up to a Year ... - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- Inside the Johns Hopkins Psilocybin Playlist - Hopkins Medicine - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- Research Story Tip: Psychedelic Drug Psilocybin Tamps Down Brains Ego ... - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- Psychedelics: Risks, benefits, and more - Medical News Today - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Psychedelic Drug Effects, Side Effects & Dangers - January 25th, 2023 [January 25th, 2023]
- Psychedelics Decriminalization Project In Berkeley, Cal Includes ... - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- Ancient mummified child was drugged with psychedelics before ritual ... - December 14th, 2022 [December 14th, 2022]
- The therapeutic potential of psychedelics - Science - December 14th, 2022 [December 14th, 2022]
- Changing Lives with Psychedelics: How Connecticut researchers are using magic mushrooms to help people overcome depression, OCD - WTNH.com - November 19th, 2022 [November 19th, 2022]
- Penis Envy Mushroom | Legal Psychedelics | Magic Mushroom - November 7th, 2022 [November 7th, 2022]
- Psychedelics. Discussing natural and synthetic friends. Science, News ... - November 5th, 2022 [November 5th, 2022]
- The Harms of Psychedelics Need to Be Put Into Context - WIRED - November 5th, 2022 [November 5th, 2022]
- Packers' Aaron Rodgers says psychedelics led to his back-to-back MVP ... - October 28th, 2022 [October 28th, 2022]
- With Promise of Legalization, Psychedelic Companies Joust Over Future Profits - The New York Times - October 25th, 2022 [October 25th, 2022]
- How do psychedelics work? This brain region may explain their effects - PBS - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- Why is the American right suddenly so interested in psychedelic drugs? - The Guardian - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Can Psychedelics Cure? Science Is on the Verge of Finding Out - Newsweek - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Large national survey suggests that the use of psychedelics is not associated with lifetime cancer development - PsyPost - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- This Pharma Company Just Scored Another Psychedelics Patent And Set Its Sights On 70 More - Small Pharma - Benzinga - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- What Made the Mushrooms Magic: Psychedelic Study Explores the Odd Evolution of Mind-Altering Fungi - The Debrief - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Psychedelics And Wellness: The Healing Company Buys PepsiCo-Backed Superfoods Company - (HLCO) - Benzinga - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- What's on the Colorado ballot? Housing, psychedelics, school meals, alcohol, taxes and more | FOX31 Denver - FOX 31 Denver - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- DoseConnect to Sponsor the Tech Stage at Wonderland Miami by Microdose - Benzinga - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- What Is Going on With Bright Minds (DRUG) Stock Today? - InvestorPlace - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Psychedelics May Ease Fear of Death and Dying - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- TDR's Top 5 Psychedelic Developments For The Week Of October 10 - The Dales Report - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- DEA Wants To Boost Production Of Cannabis & Psychedelics For Research In 2023 - Benzinga - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Talk set to explore psychedelics and mental health - Reading Today - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Silo Wellness Closes Acquisition of Dyscovry Science and Its Psilocybin Pharmaceutical Biosynthesis and Research Portfolio - Yahoo Finance - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- How does psilocybin rewire the brain? - Open Access Government - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- HYTN Awarded Controlled Drugs and Substances Dealers License Allowing for Production and Sale of Psilocybin - Yahoo Finance - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- The Healing Company acquires leading superfoods business, Your Super, and lands $150M credit facility to expand community of brands - Yahoo Finance - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]