Contents
Legislation Overview
The framework for the international control of psychotropic substances (naturally occurring or synthetically derived substances or materials listed in Schedule I, II, III or IV) is established by the UN convention of 1971.
- Schedule I: Psilocybin, MDMA, DMT and LSD are listed as Schedule I substances under the convention.
- Exceptions: Ketamine, which is on the WHO List of Essential Medicines, is not a controlled substance. Ayahuasca is not specifically controlled, although the individual components that make up the brew are controlled, including DMT, which sits at Schedule I.
Countries to Watch
United States of America While this may be the case at federal level, a number of initiatives at state level have resulted in decriminalisation of the substance. Some cities in Colorado and California approved the decriminalisation of psilocybin in 2019, with the citizens of Denver becoming the first in the country to vote to decriminalise psilocybin mushrooms on 7 May 2019.
In May 2020, the Psilocybin Service Initiative of Oregon, which is lobbying the state to make psilocybin available for medical purposes, successfully submitted 133,000 signatures… ensuring the petition will be placed on the ballot in November 2020.
Brazil In Brazil, psilocybin mushrooms are not prohibited for sale, distribution, or use, and no charges have been made in relation to psilocybin in recent years. Additionally, possession of ayahuasca has been legal in Brazil since 1992, after a series of legal battles regarding the rights of traditional ayahuasca practitioners to possess ayahuasca for religious and ritual use.
Jamaica Psychedelic drugs in Jamaica are readily available and have never been made explicitly illegal by the country’s government. These relaxed laws have made Jamaica an ideal location for research into how the scientific community can reframe the psychedelic experience as a medicinal one.
Timeline of Key Developments
2020 (July): Oregon Psilocybin Service Initiative (IP34) succeeds in placing legal psilocybin for treatment in a medical setting on the state ballot for November 2020
2001 (July): Personal possession of all drugs decriminalised in Portugal.
2017 (August): MDMA-assisted psychotherapy granted BTD from US FDA.
2018 (October): COMPASS Pathways receives BTD from US FDA for psilocybin synthetic derivative, COMP360.
2019 (March): Esketamine approved in the form of Spravato by FDA, followed by European Commission approval in December.
2019 (May): Denver, Colorado votes to decriminalise psilocybin mushrooms.
2020 (March): MindMed becomes the first publicly listed psychedelics company.
