March was yet another busy month in the world of psychedelics. There was plenty of news involving drug policy, scientific research, the emerging psychedelic industry, and more. So if you’re looking to learn more about what happened this month in psychedelics then you’re in the right place!
Here is a slimmed-down video recap version that is available for those who prefer an easier-to-digest option:
There’s a lot to get through this month, so without further ado, let’s jump into the news:
Drug Policy
New Laws
Kicking things off, two new decriminalization laws took effect in the United States this month.
Washington D.C. decriminalized natural psychedelics like ayahuasca and psilocybin mushrooms and the capital city isn’t stopping there. The Plant Medicine Coalition is pushing the District Council to enact more legislation that would provide worker and child protections related to the use of plant- and fungi-based substances, among other initiatives that the group is working on.
Baltimore did something a bit surprising by decriminalizing all drugs as well as prostitution and several other low-level offenses. This move is part of an overall experiment known as The Covid Criminal Justice Policies, and it’s a unique approach to crime that was developed with public health authorities and inspired by the global pandemic. Instead of prosecuting people arrested for minor crimes, the program looks at them as public health issues and partners with organizations in the community to help find solutions rather than punish offenders.
Wins
In last month’s recap I reported that both Virginia’s House and Senate voted to legalize cannabis, but what I didn’t realize at the time was that each one of them approved a separate bill. Now Virginia’s House and Senate have both approved the same bill, which is currently on Governor Ralph Northam’s desk awaiting a signature that would make cannabis legal in the state by 2024.
However, Northam has thrown around the idea of moving up the legalization date to this July 1st and the leaders of Virginia’s House have expressed their support for this idea, so it’s possible that weed will be legal in the Old Dominion this summer.
Cannabis reform bills made advances in several other states as well: Hawaii, Wyoming, New York, Connecticut, and Illinois. And south of the border, Mexico’s lawmakers advanced a bill to legalize recreational cannabis, bringing the country one step closer to becoming one of the world’s largest marijuana markets.
Losses
Not all drug policy reform efforts were successful, however. Mississippi’s House killed the state’s medical marijuana bill, although the Senate hasn’t given up yet and is attempting a last-ditch effort to revive the bill. And Maryland’s cannabis legalization effort officially threw in the towel, so residents of the Old Line State will need to wait for either a future federal- or state-level initiative to enjoy legal marijuana from the comfort of their own homes.
New Bills and Initiatives
And there’s plenty drug policy news on the horizon as well—a New York lawmaker filed a bill to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms in the state, lawmakers in Vermont and Rhode Island proposed decriminalizing all drugs, and activists in Michigan launched a campaign to decriminalize natural psychedelics.
Psychedelic Industry
Following on the heels of last month’s news that COMPASS Pathways is attempting to patent basic, preexisting psychedelic therapy techniques like using soft furniture and holding hands, the debate about patenting various aspects involving psychedelics continued to rage on this month.
A few well-known investors and players in the psychedelic industry had something to say about patents, including Rick Doblin, Tim Ferriss, Christian Angermayer, and David Bronner. At the heart of the matter is the fact that COMPASS Pathways has submitted patent applications for so many things involving psilocybin that Psymposia put together an astounding article detailing them that’s definitely worth checking out.
This is an important area to keep an eye on because it will impact all sorts of things, including who will be able to legally access and use psychedelics and which companies will be able to turn a profit in the emerging psychedelic industry.
Psychedelic Research
Researchers at Imperial College London published results from a groundbreaking placebo-controlled LSD microdosing trial. The study found that while participants who microdosed with active LSD ended up experiencing beneficial psychological effects, the placebos also engendered the same result. In fact, there was no statistical significance between an LSD microdose and a placebo pill.
This could mean that the benefits of microdosing come down to the placebo effect rather than an actual effect, but this study is by no means a definitive confirmation of that hypothesis. The study’s limitations include a relatively small sample size of 191 volunteers and a unique (and potentially flawed) self-blinding protocol.
More microdosing research will need to be conducted before we have a solid idea about its efficacy, but until then I’m sure microdosers will keep microdosing and getting benefits out of their practice regardless of whether those benefits come down to the psychedelic substance itself or the placebo effect.
In another study, researchers analyzed data from more than 171,000 adults who responded to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health between 2015 and 2018 and found that the use of psychedelics is associated with better physical health.
Roughly 14% of the sample reported using a classical psychedelic like LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, or DMT at least one time, and after controlling for a number of variables the results showed that those who reported ever using psychedelics tended to have better health than people who had never used a psychedelic before. Psychedelic users also had significantly lower odds of being overweight or obese.
It’s important with a study like this to remember that correlation doesn’t equal causation, but it’s interesting to know that a study with such a large sample size and variable controls found physical health to be significantly better among psychedelic users than the psychedelically-naïve.
Miscellaneous
Although many people in the psychedelic and wider drug-using communities were hopeful about President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ approach to drug policy, so far things haven’t exactly gotten off on the right foot. In addition to the fact that the drug war is still going strong, several White House staffers were asked to resign, were suspended, or are being required to work remotely after revealing past cannabis use during their background checks, even if that use occurred in states where marijuana has been legalized. This isn’t too surprising though, considering that cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, which can make it challenging for government employees to get federal security clearance.
However, what makes this extra frustrating is that several staffers had been previously told by transition officials that past cannabis use would be overlooked, only to be told later that they would need to resign. This flip-flopping is par for the course when it comes to politicians and politics in general, but it’s still aggravating to see Biden’s administration pull a bait-and-switch here.
Hopefully in the future they’ll be able to relax a bit and not exclude people on the basis of prior drug use. I know a natural remedy that might help them chill out but something tells me they won’t be interested…
Last up this month is a story about why PCP users almost exclusively live in America. The linked VICE article explores the curious reasons behind why the drug never went global like crack cocaine or LSD.
That’s all for this month’s update. Remember to always test and weigh your drugs and until next time—keep thinking wilder.
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