CLMI: Using Psychedelics For Better Policy & Mental Health Outcomes
In California, an attempt to decriminalize the possession and use of psychedelics opens doors for states to tackle their mental health crises.
a Brianna Gonzalez-Sanchez | a Learn4Life CLMI fellow
There are a variety of ongoing clinically-controlled trials and studies being conducted on psychedelics and their impact on the human mind and body. As time passes the progression on psychedelics has advanced tremendously. These mushrooms are plant-based and contain a halloucegenic compound know as Psilocybin. The drug psilocybin has a grand potential to play a medicinal role in the arena of mental health.
Psychedelic mushrooms are currently under clinical study for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder at the Ohio State Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education. The stigmas and misinformation on these mushrooms are aplenty, but research on this particular group of fungi is expanding. The broader public is quite responsive, and policymakers themselves are gradually building the momentum towards decriminalization. As times are changing, and the world is evolving, so is the narrative on this plant derived drug.
Meanwhile, not only have we witnessed an explosion in the number of clinical trials being conducted on substances such as psilocybin (which presents major complications for regulators) …
We’re already seeing the expansion of the psychedelic drug market, with experts anticipating current trends increasing at astounding rates. The Journal of the American Medical Association predicts industry investments in the psychedelic market will “outpace the legal cannabis market” with a 414 percent increase happening between 2020 to 2027 …
Treatment Potential
While psilocybin in showing enormous promise in the treatment of mental health disorders, it’s also been linked to reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. According to the John Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, the molecular structure of psilocybin allows it to penetrate the central nervous system. This is a major finding amongst the research on psychedelic mushrooms. Roland Griffiths, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience suggests that mushrooms …
produce a unique and profound change of consciousness over the course of just several hours.
The impact that these mushrooms have on the human mind is extraordinary. Laws and regulations will find it challenging to keep up, even as they’re in place, purportedly, for the safety, ethics and control of substance and drug abuse. The movement to modify laws is not to increase consumption of uncontrolled substances and encourage drug abuse. Advocates are now pushing for the need to inform and introduce a fresh narrative, an evolved perspective in a bid study the benefits and potential of psychedelic integration as a form of therapy in the mental health field.
As research provides us with new insight, facts, and evidence the laws around psychedelic mushrooms have made progression towards reclassification and decriminalization. In 2022, California state Senator Scott Wiener (D) filed Senate Bill 58 in a bid decriminalize the possession and use of psychedelics in California. It didn’t pass.
Months later, in 2023, Wiener refiled the bill with two major adjustments. Senate Bill 519 was introduced to exclude synthetic psychedelics such as LSD and MDMA, with a primary focus on plant-based psychedelics. Peyote is also excluded in response to the concerns of advocates and indigenous peoples regarding over-harvest and the colonization of their economies, with another provision excluded to mandate the study of future reforms.
Wiener pointed out that there is no necessary study to prove that drug criminalization has failed and that psychedelics must be decriminalized. We know the War on Drugs has been ongoing for decades, that it has been costly and that it’s largely failed. Still, Senate Bill 519 was also unsuccessful.
The prohibition on drugs has only increased the danger of drug use, and it has resulted in the creation of a risky underground market of drugs. We’re witnessing the failure of criminalization in real time, especially when we compare the U.S. to other countries …
Wiener and others continue pushing legislation that unlocks the healing potential of psychedelics while decriminalizing and reclassifying psychedelics. Legislators are increasingly aware of the capacity these substances have as treatment remedies for mental health disorders such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and addiction. There is possibility for reform on drug policy as a number of policymakers are now emphasizing how much current drug policy is outdated, racist, and over-incarcerating already targeted Black and Brown populations. While there’s been limited success, if any, in the creation of new policy, we are seeing the first stages of policy momentum. It's only a matter of time before push comes to shove. With more results on the horizon, paths to new outcomes are bound to open up. Research, studies, surveys, and clinical trials continue.