By Ruth Hill R.N.
Psychedelics are a class of substances that trigger changes in perception and consciousness. Most psychedelics are currently classified as Schedule I drugs, a” designation reserved for substances deemed to have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
It fails to reflect scientific evidence that psychedelics pose a very low risk of serious harm and minimal potential for problematic use. Large-scale clinical trials have shown promising applications in mental health treatment. While most psychedelics remain in Schedule I, ketamine compounds, used in medical settings, and the little-known salvia divinorum (of the seer) are exceptions. These inconsistencies undermine the justification for criminal penalties and expose flaws in drug policy.
Approximately 8 million Americans used psilocybin mushrooms in 2023, according to RAND, a research organization. A UC Berkeley poll showed that 61% of voters support regulated therapeutic use of psychedelic substances. State-level reform offers a practical and timely solution to mitigate societal harm caused by the disproportionate punishment for simple possession of psychedelics. Several California cities have passed measures decriminalizing them.
Jesse Gould, founder and president of the Heroic Hearts Project, which has sponsored psychedelic proposals in California and other states feels some sort of pilot program on a smaller scale is feasible. His nonprofit connects military veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder with psychedelic programs in other countries.
Advocates envision a first step for California might look like a proposal Sen. Josh Becker, a Democrat from Menlo Park and Sen. Brian Jones, a San Diego Republican, submitted last summer. Their bill, dubbed Heal Our Heroes Act, would have allowed the counties of San Diego, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco to launch up to five centers each where licensed staff could facilitate psilocybin to veterans and former first responders over 21 who passed a screening test.
A new position paper from Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR) says decriminalizing the use and possession of psychedelics by adults “provides a viable path to reduce mass incarceration, addresses systemic inequities, supports public health, and lays the foundation for rational drug policy reform.” The paper was written and developed by Kristel Carrington, a New York-based psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychopharmacologist.
“This sentiment reflects increased public awareness of the gap between drug policies and scientific evidence,” the paper says. “The misalignment between the legal psychedelics’ classification and their actual risk underscores broader systemic failures in drug policy.”
A better approach, D4DPR asserts, would be to remove criminal penalties around the use and possession of psychedelics. The group says this change would advance public health, promote social equity, and allow better allocation of scarce public health and safety resources. “A harm reduction-based approach ensures a more just, evidence-driven, and equitable framework for drug policy, reducing incarceration rates, mitigating stigma, and fostering public health-centered solutions,” it says. “This policy framework does not include the cultivation, sale, or distribution of psychedelics, but prioritizes harm reduction by eliminating outdated and ineffective penalties for personal use.”
The decriminalization document comes on the heels of another D4DPR position paper about treatment strategies for opioid use disorder. That paper, by Hunter Platzman, argues that rather than rely on agonist treatments such as methadone and buprenorphine, policymakers should embrace additional safer supply interventions, such as prescribing pharmaceutical-grade heroin. Legal, well-established treatments are used by fewer than 35 percent of people with opioid use disorder. Others are either unable to access the therapies or refuse them altogether.
D4DPR calls for intoxicating cannabinoids to be subject to a regulatory framework to ensure public safety. The cannabinoids paper was an attempt to bridge what the group described as a policy gap between hemp—legalized federally through the 2018 Farm Bill—and marijuana, which remains federally illegal. “The reason we got into this problem is by making this artificial distinction between two plants, hemp and cannabis, that are identical plants. One has low amounts of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and one doesn’t,” the group’s president, Adinoff, said.
Pharmaceuticals fail to treat mental health, which leads the public to surreptitious self-medicate. The Federal Schedule I ban on drugs that scientifically offers promise in treating mental health needs to realign with state legalization and the public’s needs.
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