In 1967, when the United Nations Convention on Drugs classified psychedelics as schedule I substances, it effectively ended research into these agents as potential therapeutics for psychiatric disorders.
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Psychedelics induce altered states of perception. They bind to the 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A (5-HT2A) receptor and include psilocybin, which is derived from “magic mushrooms”; N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a component of ayahuasca and mescaline (peyote cactus); and the synthesized compound D-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Other agents, such as ketamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), also known as ecstasy, are sometimes considered psychedelics as well.
Before they were classified as schedule I agents, psychedelics had been shown to be particularly beneficial for patients with treatment-resistant conditions, including depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially when administered in a supportive, therapeutic setting.
Now, after a hiatus of almost 50 years, there is renewed global interest in the scientific investigation of psychedelics. The attention was spurred in part by several exploratory studies of DMT in humans conducted in the 1990s by Rick Strassman, MD, and colleagues at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
Around the same time, Franz X. Vollenweider, MD, and colleagues at the University of Zürich began researching psilocybin and its effects on human behavior. However, it was a 2006 study of psilocybin by a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, that is widely cited as a catalyst for the current renaissance in psychedelic research.
To provide a broad-based, international perspective on these agents, including their current legal status and indications, treatment regimens, safety, efficacy, and future considerations, this news organization interviewed nine expert researchers from around the globe.
Global legal status
In most, if not all, countries, it is still illegal to prescribe psychedelics in other than a research setting.
They can be used in research, but only with approval from the Food and Drug Administration under licensure from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
France lists all synthetic hallucinogens and hallucinogenic mushrooms as narcotic. As a result, possession, use, transportation, and collection are subject to criminal sanctions.
In France, NMDA antagonists such as ketamine and nitrous oxide are regarded as psychedelic molecules and can be used off label for various conditions or as part of research protocols authorized by the French public health code.
Although psychedelics are illegal under Mexican law, they are commonly used in indigenous communities as part of traditional rituals.
“The line between traditional consumption and psychedelic tourism is very thin,” José J. Mendoza Velásquez, MD, professor in the department of mental health, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, said in an interview.
Psychedelics also are illegal in the United Kingdom, although government agencies have recently allowed research groups to investigate them. Psychedelics cannot be prescribed in Germany, Spain, or Italy. However, investigators in these countries can request permission from regulatory agencies to conduct research.
Brazil allows psychedelic substances to be researched, particularly ayahuasca, which has long traditional and religious roots in the country.
However, as in other countries, none of the classic psychedelics is regulated for therapeutic use in Brazil. It is widely expected that the Brazilian government will approve MDMA sometime in 2024 for use in the treatment of PTSD.