Psychedelinks – January 20, 2023

Efforts to decriminalize or legalize psilocybin and other psychedelics across the United States is off to a racing start in 2023, and these bills are being introduced on a bipartisan basis. Just this week a Republican lawmaker in New Hampshire filed a bill to decriminalize possession and use of psychedelics and a Republican lawmaker in Missouri introduced legislation to create a regulated system for access to psilocybin for certain conditions, such as PTSD and depression. Similarly, Democrat lawmakers in Washington and New York have filed bills to decriminalize and create legal access pathways to psychedelics. Similar efforts are occurring in a handful other states. “The excitement around psychedelics is palpable and I’m thrilled to see the general public and lawmakers embracing plant medicine which we know has so much potential healing power for our communities,” says Emerge attorney Kaci Hohmann, “but I also hear the calls for caution in an effort to not risk federal intervention. This is a time to be collectively mindful of our approach to ensure the best possible outcome for those who will benefit from these medicines the most.”

“Patients in Alberta will now be able to legally consider adding psychedelic-assisted therapy to the list of treatment options available for mental illnesses. As of Jan. 16, the option is available only through registered and licensed psychiatrists in the province. Alberta’s new policy may set a precedent that moves Canadians one step closer to accepting psychedelics as medicinal substances, but historically these drugs were widely sought out for recreational and non-clinical purposes. Health Canada has provided exemptions for the use of psilocybin for patients with end-of-life anxiety, and has started approving suppliers and therapists interested in working with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Training programs for psychedelic therapists are popping up across Canada, perhaps anticipating a change in regulation and the current lack of trained professionals ready to deliver psychedelic medicine. Canada has an opportunity to take the lead once more in this so-called psychedelic renaissance. But, it might be our chance to invest in more sustainable solutions to harm reduction and ways of including Indigenous perspectives, rather than racing to push psychedelics into the medical marketplace.”

“New research has found that race and ethnicity moderate the associations between the use of psychedelic drugs and major depressive episodes in a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. The findings have been published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. ‘I was interested in the topic because there is a lack of research about psychedelics, race, and mental health,’ said study author Grant M. Jones, a clinical psychology PhD student at Harvard University. ‘Most of the treatment studies have been conducted using majority White samples. So for me, this is my way of starting to raise questions and launch inquires into the intersection of psychedelics, mental health, and race — and seeing how identity might impact the associations that psychedelics have with mental health.’ However, Jones noted that the findings are correlational. “It doesn’t mean that psychedelics have weaker effects for treating mental health disorders for racial and ethnic minorities,’ he said. It is also possible that unaccounted demographic factors contribute to the observed findings.”

“It’s not legal anywhere in the US to sell retail psilocybin products[.] It’s the same in Canada, even though one province just reportedly covered the cost of magic mushrooms therapy for two patients. But where there is demand, there will be supply. In Florida, a CBD dispensary which made headlines for selling amanita muscaria, the iconic red and white spotted psychedelic mushroom that does not include the prohibited psilocybin, has been forced to pull the products following a visit from the state’s department of agriculture and consumer services. This all comes shortly after the two owners of Shroomyz, a store in Toronto, were arrested and charged for selling psilocybin products. Other stores operating in Vancouver and Ontario remain unscathed, including another Shroomyz outlet in Ottawa. Meanwhile, an increasing number of stores in New York City and elsewhere have also allegedly been selling products such as magic mushroom chocolate bars, sometimes surreptitiously.”