DEA Ayahuasca Report is Challenged

In February 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a document to the legal team representing the Church of the Eagle and the Condor (CEC).

On June 9, 2023, the Chacruna Institute published an article in the peer-reviewed Journal of Psychedelic Studies contesting the DEA’s report. The article, “The DEA Report on Ayahuasca Risks: ‘Science’ in Service of Prohibition?” was written in partnership with leading experts on ayahuasca, including scholars from the fields of biology, neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and sociology.

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Legality of Psychedelics around the Globe

Psychedelics have been illegal in much of the world for over half a century. However, that is starting to change. As the medical and spiritual benefits of psychedelics become increasingly apparent, more cities, states, and countries are changing the laws that govern these compounds.

The following is an outline of the global laws governing psychedelics as of June 1, 2023. Fortunately, laws are constantly changing! To stay up to date on where psychedelics are legalized and decriminalized, keep an eye on our legal guide, which is constantly being updated to reflect changes in regulations.

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Ethics and Psychedelics

This study presents a range of ethical issues that arise when considering the use of psychedelic substances within medicine.

Psychedelics are, by their nature, boundary-dissolving, and it is suggested that progress in the Ethics of Psychedelic Medicine is best made within a broader-ranging Psychedelic Bioethics, which encompasses not just medicine, but wider society, including the breadth of cultural containers and settings in which these compounds are used.

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More on the Therapeutic Potential of Mushrooms

Fred Barrett, a neuroscientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research, discusses the revolutionary healing potential of psilocybin, what is not yet known about the compound’s role in treating various psychiatric disorders, the importance of the “therapy” aspect of psychedelic-assisted therapy, and the hurdles that remain to this treatment being accessible to the general public.

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Studying Psychedelics- Design and Research

How much does a person’s subjective experience and expectation of a psychedelic trip, as opposed to only the drug’s chemical effects on the brain, influence the drug’s ability to alleviate conditions like depression, addiction, or post-traumatic stress disorder?

Now that psychedelics are being noticed by federal regulators and the public, scientists are again asking: What’s the best way to study these compounds in order to truly understand their effects?

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