What do you think of drug policy reform more broadly, and where do you see your work on psychedelics fitting into that?
(Disclaimer/hopefully-acceptable-self-promotion: Peter Singer and I argued, in the New Statesman, in favour of full legalisation a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t mention psychedelics specifically, but full legalisation would, amongst other things, make research into and the therapeutic use of psychedelics easier).
The public health science and related civil rights concerns are clear that we shouldn’t be using the criminal justice system to address the real programs that can come from drug use. But that is true for all drugs, e.g., cocaine, meth, opioids, not just psychedelics. As I discussed with Lex Fridman, I like the language of regulation rather than legalization, as legalization is cloudy. Caffeine is sometimes illegal (e.g., an OTC mediation with more than the FDA allows), but I’ve done legal work giving meth and cocaine getting folks high, and these and other scheduled drugs have approved medical uses). The exception are things like impaired driving, where I do think the criminal justice system is very appropriate. We are a long ways from where we need to be, but I think decriminalization of drugs, meaning removal of felony and misdemeanors, is appropriate as a step right now. The science behind safe injection sights is also strong and we is currently justified. We need regulation, and I would never want, to give an extreme example, minors to be able to buy cocaine at a convenience store, but we should be moving toward smart, science based regulation which is tailored for each drug and its own profile of risks. In terms of my own work of psychedelics, I am a little annoyed when psychedelic decriminalization efforts cite (even in the official ballot initiatives or legislative bills) the work that my colleagues and I have done as the justification for decriminalization. If that is the standard, then we should follow the FDA path toward medical approval. Although we are well on our way, the science has not met that standard yet. But we should decriminalize for the reasons stated above. Psychedelics have real risks, like all drugs including caffeine, but the best way to realistically and effectively address them is not by giving criminal penalties that restrict employment and educational opportunities, separates families, etc.
What do you think of drug policy reform more broadly, and where do you see your work on psychedelics fitting into that?
(Disclaimer/hopefully-acceptable-self-promotion: Peter Singer and I argued, in the New Statesman, in favour of full legalisation a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t mention psychedelics specifically, but full legalisation would, amongst other things, make research into and the therapeutic use of psychedelics easier).
The public health science and related civil rights concerns are clear that we shouldn’t be using the criminal justice system to address the real programs that can come from drug use. But that is true for all drugs, e.g., cocaine, meth, opioids, not just psychedelics. As I discussed with Lex Fridman, I like the language of regulation rather than legalization, as legalization is cloudy. Caffeine is sometimes illegal (e.g., an OTC mediation with more than the FDA allows), but I’ve done legal work giving meth and cocaine getting folks high, and these and other scheduled drugs have approved medical uses). The exception are things like impaired driving, where I do think the criminal justice system is very appropriate. We are a long ways from where we need to be, but I think decriminalization of drugs, meaning removal of felony and misdemeanors, is appropriate as a step right now. The science behind safe injection sights is also strong and we is currently justified. We need regulation, and I would never want, to give an extreme example, minors to be able to buy cocaine at a convenience store, but we should be moving toward smart, science based regulation which is tailored for each drug and its own profile of risks. In terms of my own work of psychedelics, I am a little annoyed when psychedelic decriminalization efforts cite (even in the official ballot initiatives or legislative bills) the work that my colleagues and I have done as the justification for decriminalization. If that is the standard, then we should follow the FDA path toward medical approval. Although we are well on our way, the science has not met that standard yet. But we should decriminalize for the reasons stated above. Psychedelics have real risks, like all drugs including caffeine, but the best way to realistically and effectively address them is not by giving criminal penalties that restrict employment and educational opportunities, separates families, etc.