Policy
UK MPs demand answers as Drugs Minister dodges psilocybin debate

Published
7 months agoon

MP Crispin Blunt raised a point of order in the House of Commons after the UK’s Drugs Minister failed to show up for a debate on access to psilocybin.
MPs from the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and SNP called for the ACMD to review psilocybin’s status as a Schedule 1 drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 2001 to remove barriers to research.
The calls are in light of increasing clinical evidence showing that the compound holds potential as an innovative mental health treatment.
The UK’s Minister of State (Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire), Chris Philip, did not make an appearance at the debate, which took place during Mental Health Awareness Week, leading to angry demands for an explanation from MPs.
The Drugs Minister was instead represented by the Immigration Minister at the debate. The Conservative Drugs Policy Reform Group (CDPRGUK) noted that the Immigration Minister – who was unable to pronounce the word ‘psilocybin’ – “understandably, had no detailed understanding of the issue and could not make commitments on behalf of the government.”
Conservative MP, Crispin Blunt, Founder and Unremunerated Chair of CDPRGUK, stated: “Where is the Drugs Minister? What are we to make of his absence?”
Blunt raised a point of order in the main Chamber of the House of Commons on Monday, 22 May, asking: “How can Back Benchers successfully use the procedures of this House to enable debate to hold the Government to account for proposed policy changes they will not make if the responsible Minister will not reply to the debate?
“Particularly when the debate is led by colleagues who have long made personal study of that particular area of policy, such as the hon. Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) and myself, and not least when they are reinforced by the harrowing personal experience of hon. Members of this House such as the hon. Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols)?”
MP for Warrington North, Charlotte Nichols, had opened the debate with a passionate speech regarding her own experience with PTSD, describing her experience with the condition as a “living hell”.
In response to Blunt’s complaint, MP Philip stated: “I was at the defence establishment in Porton Down at the time. As often happens, another Home Office Minister, the Minister for Immigration — a very capable Home Office Minister — replied.
“I have previously met one to one with the hon. Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) to discuss this in detail, and I replied to an Adjournment debate just a few weeks ago.”
MP Philip explained that, subsequent to the debate and the meeting, he has asked the ACMD to accelerate its work on removing barriers to research for all Schedule 1 drugs, including psilocybin.
In a statement, Timmy Davis of the CDPRGUK, said: “According to nationwide polling data, nearly 60% of the UK population supports changing the law to make it easier to research psilocybin (the active component in “magic mushrooms”).
“This proportion increased when respondents were told that similar reforms to enable research with psilocybin have already taken place in other jurisdictions around the world.”
CDPRG UK told Psychedelic Health: “There are people all over the UK suffering from conditions that could be prevented yet the Home Office continues to kick the can down the road on assessing the evidence that would justify why psilocybin is kept from them.
“Psilocybin has been in the most restrictive category of control for 50 years without justification. In any other area of policy this would be unjustified.
“In the last four months the Home Office has commissioned reviews of the harms of four other drugs, but refused to do the same with psilocybin. What’s going on? The only answer is Home Office inertia. This has to change.”
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Policy
Now is the time for psychedelic access, says campaigner

Published
2 weeks agoon
21st November 2023By
News Editor
Activists in Oakland recently filed a ballot put forward by Dave Hodges seeking to legalise safe and legal access to psychedelics for therapeutic uses.
In the face of critics, Hodges has said now is the time for safe access to psychedelics.
The Psychedelic Wellness & Healing Initiative would enable the sale, possession and use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes if passed. Psychedelics that would be allowed under the ballot include Psilocybin, MDMA, DMT, and Mescaline.
If passed, the initiative would give doctors and mental health specialists the right to recommend psychedelics to ease the debilitating symptoms of a range of problems, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, addiction, suicidality and traumatic brain injury (TBI), among others.
Hodges has said: “Now is the time for safe, controlled medical access for patients in need. The way to solve the problem is not by continuing to ignore it.”
Hodges’ solution is to create a structure for use that includes proper dosages and access to experts who can help users benefit from appropriate treatment.
The updated initiative language emphasises safety, and gives doctors and mental health specialists the right to recommend psychedelics to ease the debilitating symptoms of a range of conditions.
Research by the University of Michigan and Columbia University shows non-LSD hallucinogenic use on the rise and Hodges has stated that increase means that the initiative providing guidelines for use is needed more than ever.
Hodges said he hopes Californians will read the initiative, share their thoughts about it over the holiday week and offer feedback via the initiative website, PW4CA.com, by 27 November, 2023, the deadline for modifications.
“Now is the time to provide medical and therapeutic access to psychedelics,” Hodges said. “The way to do this is through the initiative.”
Policy
Transform Drugs releases groundbreaking book: How to regulate psychedelics

Published
3 weeks agoon
15th November 2023
UK charity Transform Drug Policy Foundation has published a new book ‘How to Regulate Psychedelics: A Practical Guide’ that sets out how psychedelics can be legalised and regulated for non-medical adult use.
While an increasing amount of research is pointing to the potentially beneficial effects of psychedelic treatment on mental health conditions, many people across the globe are using psychedelics outside of the clinical setting.
The book includes a set of proposals for post-prohibition policies, covering psychedelics including psilocybin, LSD, DMT and Mescaline.
Previously, Transform’s guides on regulating stimulants and cannabis have been used to advise governments around the world on drug policy. This book seeks to inform the debates on psychedelic drug reforms taking place across the world.
Co-author and Public Affairs and Policy Manager at Transform Drug Policy Foundation, Ester Kincová, stated: “Despite psychedelic drugs being illegal, their non-medical use within society has been steadily increasing.
“Punitive enforcement has not decreased use or eliminated supply, but it has made use more unsafe.
“Legalising and regulating psychedelics is a pragmatic move to reduce harm. This is no longer a theoretical debate, states in the US are already recognising the need and making moves to regulate for non-medical adult use.”
Scientific Chair of Drug Science, Professor David Nutt, added: “Once again Transform have come up with a well thought out and practical plan for the regulation of another group of currently illegal drugs – in this case psychedelics.
“Their ideas would be both easy to implement and to engage with and will, if adopted, radically enhance the safe use of these remarkable agents.”
Proposals for regulation
The book includes a four-tiered regulation model “that attempts to manage the variety of psychedelic preparations and the different ways in which they are used”.
These include:
- Private use, home cultivation, foraging and not-for-profit sharing.
- Membership-based non-for-profit associations for plant-based products.
- Licensed production and retail adaptable to different products and environments
- Regulated commercial guided or supervised use
Additionally, a decriminalisation model is proposed which suggests that possession for personal use should no longer be an offence of any kind or be subject to any sanctions; Drugs for personal use should not be confiscated; cultivation of small amounts of plant-based drugs for personal use should be decriminalised, among other suggestions.
The book also includes topics such as embedding social justice, equity and human rights into policy design, how to think about psychedelics regulation, why regulate psychedelics and why now, and psychedelics and the UN drug treaties.
To read the book, please visit transformdrugs.org/.
Policy
Oakland ballot seeks to legalise medical psychedelics

Published
1 month agoon
30th October 2023By
News Editor
Activists in Oakland have filed a ballot that seeks to legalise safe and legal access to psychedelics for therapeutic uses.
The Psychedelic Wellness & Healing Initiative would enable the sale, possession and use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes if passed. Psychedelics that would be allowed under the ballot include Psilocybin, MDMA, DMT, and Mescaline.
If passed, the initiative would give doctors and mental health specialists the right to recommend psychedelics to ease the debilitating symptoms of a range of problems, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, addiction, suicidality and traumatic brain injury (TBI), among others.
Additionally, it would create a statewide framework for regulating the possession, use, cultivation and production of substances for medical and therapeutic use.
The initiative has been introduced by proponent and founder of the Oakland-based Church of Ambrosia, Dave Hodges, to the California Attorney General’s office for the 2024 ballot, and will need 546,651 valid signatures to qualify.
The filing follows California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent veto of Senate Bill 58, the bill that sought to decriminalise the use of certain psychedelic drugs.
Hodges emphasised that SB58 would have been a step forward, but that it had major flaws concerning its lack of provisions to ensure access, public safety and quality control. That veto, Hodges said, compelled him to move quickly on the initiative filing.
When the California Attorney General certifies the initiative for circulation, backers will have about four and a half months to gather the required signatures for ballot placement.
Signature collecting will begin in early December.
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