Are Psychedelics Following in the Footsteps of Cannabis?

The legalization of cannabis is spreading its roots across the world, and media reports abound of huge “decriminalize nature” movements happening such as the MORE Act and IP 34 in Oregon. These fascinating reports have people wondering if psychedelics are following in the footsteps of cannabis?

Overview of Marijuana Legalization

In 2013, the South American country of Uruguay was the first country to fully legalize recreational cannabis. Countries in North America recently became very cannabis-friendly, too, with the United States and Canada both enacting laws that legalized marijuana for medicinal and recreational use.

In the U.S., the medical use of cannabis is currently legalized in 33 states, and the recreational use of it is legal in 11. However, it remains a Schedule I drug with a high potential for abuse and no accepted medicinal use at the federal level.

Canada became the second country to legalize marijuana for both medicinal and recreational use in 2018. A few countries that might follow suit include Argentina, Australia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Thailand, the US and New Zealand.

The War on the War on Drugs

In 1971, President Richard Nixon led the War on Drugs. The War on Drugs increased prison sentences for drug dealers and users to stop the use and distribution of psychedelic substances and other drugs.  

Statistics attest to the ineffectiveness of the war on drugs, and three in four people in the U.S. believe it is failing. Surveys also found that 67 percent of say that the government should turn much of the focus on providing treatment for people who are using hard-core narcotics such as heroin and cocaine. Only 26 percent felt that the focus should be on the prosecution of these narcotics users.

High Time for a Policy Change

Many feel certain drugs are less severe than others and shouldn’t fall under the umbrella of the War on Drugs, including President Jimmy Carter in 1977. That year, the U.S. president called for marijuana to be decriminalized, telling Congress, “Penalties against possession of the drug should not be more damaging than the drug itself.”

Forward thinkers such as Jimmy Carter have formed peaceful battlegrounds that have made a difference in the decriminalization of certain drugs throughout history. Today, the War on Drugs is facing a new drug policy landscape, and proponents who favor legalizing psychedelic drugs are working hard to make decriminalization of them a reality.

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The MORE Act

Today, many researchers and policymakers agree that the contentious War on Drugs is a massive failure. However, its detractors agree that the misguided initiative has been a great success in contributing to one of the most crowded prison systems in the world.  

The comprehensive Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act introduced to the United States Congress this year aims to change the mass incarceration rate and more.

If passed, the MORE Act chips away at the War on Drugs while providing economic recovery from COVID-19, partly through a five percent tax on marijuana sales at the manufacturer level.

The Judiciary Committee approved legislation for the MORE Act, and now it’s been referred to other committees that haven’t taken action on it yet.  Once they do, it will be on its way to the House floor. Since it’s inception, the Act has garnered 76 cosponsors.

Beyond the economic benefits of the MORE Act, the Marijuana Justice Coalition (MJC) said “federal descheduling and expungement will drastically reduce the burden of marijuana charges and arrests in the criminal justice system.”

MJC added,

“This would help begin the long overdue reversal of mass incarceration in the U.S.—which is more timely than ever in the times of mass mobilizations for police reform and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging jails and prisons. The MORE Act focuses on creating community infrastructure and supports that diminish contact with the criminal justice system.”

Spurred on by what has happened with marijuana recently, psychonauts around the world are pushing for psychedelic substances to be legalized, especially when it comes to their proven benefits in therapy. The movement particularly seems to be gaining steam when it comes to decriminalizing psilocybin.

Initiative Petition 34

Oregonians supporting IP 34 have been very busy gathering the needed petitions to get legalization of psilocybin on the ballot as an initiated state statute. They succeeded, and on November 3, 2020, Oregon voters can vote yes or no to legalize the use of psilocybin for therapy. If passed, IP 34 brings psilocybin treatment to the Beaver State through a licensed and regulated system. 

Psilocybin is a groundbreaking therapeutical approach for people with drug-resistant depression disorders and PTSD. If the measure passes, it will support and protect patients, getting them the help they need.

Also, researchers at top universities in the U.S. demonstrate that psilocybin therapy can help patients suffering from anxiety, depression, and addiction. Clinicians, neuroscientists, and even combat veterans have spoken out and support saying yes to IP 34.

The November result will definitely be interesting to see. If it passes, it will be quite a coup for people working on getting legislation that bars the use of therapeutic psychedelics reduced or removed.

Are Psychedelics the Next Big Wave?

Cities such as Denver and Oakland are leading the charge in decriminalizing psychedelics through either ballot measures or city council action.

In June 2020, the City Council of Oakland decriminalized magic mushrooms and other natural psychedelics. The new measure passed unanimously weeks after voters in Denver narrowly approved a similar bill.

Along with psilocybin mushrooms, the resolution decriminalizes other psychedelics derived from plants and fungi. The list includes ayahuasca, DMT and peyote, but synthetic hallucinogens like MDMA and LSD are still illegal.

Medical and Wellness Therapies

In 2018, Johns Hopkins University researchers saw the potential of psilocybin for medicinal use and recommended that the DEA downgrade it from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule IV. Later, the FDA approved the depression treatment drug, Esketamine (Spravato), in March 2019, making it the first psychedelic substance the agency approved.

The FDA also conferred “breakthrough therapy” status on psilocybin and MDMA, enabling research to be hastened for PTSD and major depression treatments.

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Final Thoughts

Although it’s a little premature to hazard a guess, many of the watershed moments that indicate psychedelics are following in the steps of cannabis haven’t been fully realized yet.

However, it is safe to say psychedelic legalization initiatives are slowly taking hold and gaining momentum, much like what we saw with the timeline that governed cannabis legalization.