In the latest development for psychedelics in the UK, the Home Affairs Committee Drug Report has seen MPs call for a review of drug scheduling in the country, welcoming the government’s commitment to psychedelic research.

The report highlights barriers to research that are preventing the UK from developing its own psychedelic research industry “which has an emerging and growing global market.”

Exploring topics such as legislative framework, the Government’s 10-year Drugs Strategy, county lines, health and criminal justice-led harm reduction, cannabis and more, the report recommends that the Government balances its criminal justice response to drugs with an increased public health response.

It highlights that the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 – which came into force more than 50 years ago – is in urgent need of reform as it has “failed to prevent drug use and has failed to reduce drug-related deaths and drug-related offending”, as well as disproportionately impacting ethnic minorities. 

Restrictions in the Act and its supporting Act, the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, regulate how drugs are licensed and handled – and psychedelic compounds such as LSD and psilocybin – are included as Schedule 1 drugs under it. This makes licensing costs for research incredibly high, creating barriers to scientific knowledge and advancements. 

While these barriers do exist, a number of initiatives have nonetheless been established in the UK looking at psychedelic research, such as a partnership between King College London’s Institute for Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, South London NHS Foundation Trust and COMPASS Pathways to investigate the use of psychedelics for Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD).

With this rise in clinical evidence that psychedelic medicines may hold promise as treatments for a number of mental health conditions, the MPs call for an urgent reclassification of psychedelic compounds from Schedule I to Schedule II.

“We welcome the UK Government’s commitment to reducing barriers to researching psychedelic drugs under Schedule 1 to the 2001 Regulations.” the report states. 

“Pending the outcomes of the ACMD’s ongoing review of Schedule 1 controlled drugs, we recommend the UK Government urgently moves psychedelic drugs to Schedule 2 in order to facilitate research on the medical or therapeutic value of these drugs.”

And continues: “Beyond the potential benefit psychedelics may have to health, these barriers may also prevent the UK from developing its own psychedelic research industry, which has an emerging and growing global market. The barriers researchers face may therefore stymie our understanding of controlled drugs, undermine innovations in medical treatment and undermine the UK as a global leader in science and medicine.”

While the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is currently conducting a review of barriers to researching Schedule 1 Drugs – which is allegedly in “advanced” stages – the report recommends that a wider review is required, recommending that the Home Office “must reform the classification system and the scheduling system based on the findings of that review” and that updated assessments should be conducted every 10 years. 

Speaking to Psychedelic Health, the independent non-profit reform group, Drug Science, which provided evidence for the report, stated: “Drug Science were pleased that the evidence we gave to the Select Committee played a significant role in this report. 

“Specifically, we support their call for reform of the drug laws to reduce harms and facilitate research particularly the re-scheduling of psychedelics like psilocybin for treatment purposes. 

“It is difficult to comprehend that such a well-researched and thoughtful report should be simply dismissed by the Home Office. Their rejection of policies proven to save lives confirms the urgent need for a change in the current processes, and the need for a health-centred approach. 

“Drug Science hopes that the Department of Health will be more supportive.”

Timmy Davis, Psychedelics Lead at CDPRG and Policy Director at Psilocybin Access Rights (PAR), added: “The number of influential voices within parliament calling for the rescheduling of psilocybin and other psychedelics continues to grow. The Home Affairs Committee are the most recent to chime in, echoing and amplifying those from the public and civil society, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists and two of the most influential UK mental health charities, CALM and SANE.

“There has never been a clear voice of opposition, but the Home Office continues to hide behind an upcoming report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). This report will make recommendations on the removal of barriers to researching Schedule 1 drugs (the first iteration of which was commissioned in 2017), despite this being completely unnecessary for the Home Office to take action to reschedule.

“It is another question entirely whether the recommendations of the ACMD’s report, which will almost certainly not recommend rescheduling, will be enacted by the Home Office who have a history of ignoring or acting in contradiction to their advice.

“The newly released Home Affairs Committee report on the other hand is clear – 50 years on from the enactment of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, a wholesale review of UK drugs policy is long overdue. Amongst a variety of measures to better deal with the risks posed by currently controlled drugs, such as the facilitation of festival drug checking and diamorphine-assisted treatment, they have recommended a one-time review of the Class and Schedule status of all controlled drugs. If psychedelics were found to be better placed within Schedule II or lower, research and prescription would be greatly facilitated.

“It would rectify the unjustified levels of control inflicted upon these substances, aligning scheduling and classification with the most recent evidence of harms and utility. Since the psychedelics were first controlled, there has been no review of the evidence – and given the number of times such recommendations have been made, such large-scale reform is an unlikely outcome of the release of this particular report.

“That said, it is becoming increasingly clear that the appetite for reform within parliament is quickly becoming a reflection of the views of the UK public, who want to see increased access to psychedelic-assisted therapies. It is gratifying to see the impact that our Psilocybin Rescheduling Project is continuing to have within parliament.

“As the Psilocybin Access Rights campaign continues to increase public pressure, and the CDPRG continues to troubleshoot the misgivings within the Home Office, we remain optimistic that HMG will grasp the scale of the opportunity and reschedule psilocybin ahead of market authorisation.”