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An Oregon state panel tasked with advising on the implementation of a legal psilocybin therapy program has authorized a team of researchers to produce a comprehensive report on the science, history and culture of the psychedelic as regulators prepare to allow facilities to administer it.
Members of the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board released an initial report in July that reviewed hundreds of psilocybin studies, as required by the landmark 2020 medical legalization initiative approved by the electors. But they were pressed for time and will now be working with a newly established psychedelic research center at Harvard Law School to cover the topic in more detail.
Part of the intent of the new, expanded research project is to help inform legislative efforts outside of Oregon where psychedelic reform is being considered.
“Given the growing interest in psychedelic legislation, Oregon will likely be the first of several states to consider regulating psilocybin services,” Mason Marks, who sits on the advisory board of the Marijuana Moment, told Marijuana Moment. ‘Oregon for psilocybin.
“Insofar as the [Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications] The report can help inform their decision-making, it should be made available for that purpose, ”said Marks, who is also the director of Harvard’s premier psychedelic policy center. “I hope this can provide a roadmap for successful collaboration between the states and the federal government.”
The initial report submitted by the Oregon review panel concluded that psilocybin has significant medical value for a number of mental health issues. The substance has been shown to be “effective in reducing depression and anxiety, including in life threatening conditions,” the members found.
But this upcoming second review, which the board approved late last month and which will take up to six months, will cover a lot more ground. For example, experts will examine how the ban on psilocybin has “affected marginalized communities” and how Oregon’s reform law may impact these people.
Any recommendations included in the report will still need to be approved by the full board before being referred to Oregon Health Authority regulators for review.
“Potential sources of data include historical information on indigenous use of psilocybin, anthropological literature, religious scholarship, bioethical literature, mid-twentieth century medical and psychological literature, narrative descriptions of use. psilocybin, public health data, legislative and legal documents. scholarship ”indicates a research proposal. “The project will only review and analyze existing research. “
Marks told Marijuana Moment that it is “important to include the views and practices of indigenous communities because their technologies are the foundation of the psychedelics industry.”
“Some cultures have used psychedelics, including psilocybin, for hundreds or thousands of years. In many ways, they are the authorities in this space, and we must recognize and respect their expertise, ”he said. “There is often a tendency to take marginalized communities or adopt policies regardless of how they are affected. “
“Marginalized communities should also be included because the United States War on Drugs has had a devastating impact on them. Decades of punitive drug policies have disproportionately impacted communities of color, torn families apart, and destroyed many lives through violence and incarceration. Meanwhile, Prohibition deprived people with mental health problems, another marginalized community, of the potential benefits of psilocybin. Its Schedule I controlled substance status has inhibited research for half a century.
Other topics covered by the report include how psilocybin affects communities, how cultural attitudes towards the psychedelic have changed over time, what community rituals have been established around psilocybin, how entheogen might impact addiction and overdose rates and how other jurisdictions have reformed. laws governing psilocybin.
“The ELSI report picks up where the rapid examination of the evidence left off. Without the time constraints of the first report, it can take a broader and more inclusive approach, ”said Marks. “Some sources of particular importance may include academic literature in the fields of anthropology, law, public health, psychology, religion and sociology.”
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s (D) office announced the appointment of 17 members of the psilocybin advisory board in March. The panel aims to facilitate the implementation of the historic reform initiative.
The developments in Oregon come as lawmakers and advocates across the United States continue to press ahead with psychedelic reform.
Michigan senators on Thursday introduced a bill to legalize the possession, cultivation and delivery of a range of psychedelics derived from plants and fungi such as psilocybin and mescaline.
Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council approved entheogenic decriminalization last year, and in July, local lawmakers passed a resolution to officially designate September as Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Awareness Month.
Efforts are also underway in Grand Rapids to enact a policy change for psychedelics.
A California senator introduced a bill to legalize possession of psychedelics through the Senate and two Assembly committees, but he recently put the effort on hold until next year to generate an additional membership.
California activists are also hoping to present voters with an initiative in 2022 to legalize the possession and sale of psilocybin. And a legislative analysis of the proposal released last week found it would reduce costs associated with enforcing laws against the substance.
Oakland and Santa Cruz have already adopted the decriminalization of psychedelics.
Meanwhile, activists in Denver who led a successful campaign in 2019 to make the city the first in the United States to decriminalize possession of psilocybin have their sights set on broader reform, with plans underway to end the criminalization of non-commercial giveaways and community use of psychedelics.
Cities in Massachusetts that have adopted the policy change are: Northampton, Somerville and Cambridge. In July, state lawmakers heard testimony about a bill to create a task force to study the implications of legalizing psychedelics like psilocybin and ayahuasca.
The Connecticut governor recently signed legislation that includes language requiring the state to conduct a study on the therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms.
Texas also recently passed a bill requiring the state to investigate the medical benefits of psychedelics for military veterans.
A New York lawmaker introduced a bill in June that would require the state to establish an institute to similarly research the medical value of psychedelics.
In Oakland, the first city where a city council voted to largely remove the priority of criminalizing entheogenic substances, lawmakers approved a follow-up resolution in December that calls for passage of the nationwide policy change. ‘State and local jurisdiction authorization to allow healing ceremonies where people could use psychedelics.
After lawmakers in Ann Arbor passed a decriminalization resolution last year, a county attorney announced that his office would not pursue charges of possession of plants and entheogenic fungi, “regardless of the amount in cause “.
Aspen, Colorado city council discussed the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin and proposals to decriminalize these substances at a meeting in May. But members said, as it stands, passing a reform would be better managed at the state level while entheogens remain strictly controlled by the federal government.
Seattle lawmakers also recently sent a letter to members of a local task force focused on the opioid overdose epidemic, imploring the group to investigate the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like ayahuasca and ibogaine. to fight against addiction. In response, the task force issued a recommendation for the widespread decriminalization of all drugs. The group said psychedelics in particular could represent a promising treatment for treating substance abuse disorders and mental health issues.
Meanwhile, activists in Portland, Oregon are pushing local lawmakers to pass a resolution decriminalizing the cultivation, donation, and ceremonial use of a wide range of psychedelics.
In a setback for defenders, the U.S. House of Representatives recently voted against a proposal by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) that would have removed an addendum from the spending bill that advocates say restricted federal funding for research on Schedule I drugs, including psychedelics such as psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine. However, it garnered considerably more votes this round than when the MP first introduced it in 2019.
The report’s provisions of separate spending legislation passed by the House also touch on the need to expand research into cannabis and psychedelics. The panel urged the National Institute On Drug Abuse (NIDA) to support expanded studies on marijuana, for example. He further states that federal health agencies should continue their research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for military veterans suffering from a host of mental health issues.
On broader drug policy reform, voters in Oregon also approved in November an initiative to decriminalize possession of all drugs. This year, the Maine House of Representatives passed a drug decriminalization bill, but he later died in the Senate.
In May, congressional lawmakers introduced the first-ever law to decriminalize possession of illicit substances at the federal level.
Read the advisory board’s proposal for the wider psilocybin report below:
Research proposal on psilocybin… by Marijuana Moment
Biden’s drug czar wants to facilitate research on marijuana, psychedelics and other Schedule I substances
Image courtesy of Kristie Gianopulos.
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