Psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health conditions is being researched in clinical trials. There are associated benefits, risks and policy considerations…is the title of this new report
There’s lots of chatter about reports going back and forth between venerable bodies and government departments discussing all the great things that could be done but the key info lies at the end of the report around the issues of schedule 1 and criminality associated with psychedelics
All psychedelic drugs, except ketamine, are in class A and schedule 1.129 Researchers and policymakers have expressed concerns that circular arguments hamper advances in clinical research, meaning potentially valuable medicines are perpetually ‘stuck’ in schedule 1. 3 In March 2023, the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire said “there is an element of chicken and egg or Catch-22 about the situation, because we need to do the research before there is an evidence base to justify the rescheduling that might be merited”
Those in charge could bother to read this following simple set of bullets which if it were the % figures of a governemt winning seats in parliament words like mandate and landslide would be used but because we are talking about psychedelics they’ll introduce words like caution and process.
In a 2021 YouGov poll, 1,763 UK adults were asked about the use of psilocybin in medical research: • 55% were supportive
• 31% were unsure
• 13% were opposed
