The Shroom Boom

By: Noah Coyle

Edited By: micah sandy and connor tooman

In 1970, psychedelics were classified as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). [1] Psychedelics were thereby said to have no accepted medical use and to have a high potential for abuse. Thus, they were prohibited to both the public and most medical researchers. [2] [3] The primary reason for this ban is up to debate; most who study the subject conclude that it resulted from a moral panic against psychedelics that took place during the 1960s while others hold that neo-puritanical values and the biases of mid-20th-century psychiatrists are to blame. [4] In any case, medical research into psychedelics, which flourished in the 1950s, has been strictly limited, but what little medical research that has been done on psychedelics since the enactment of the CSA suggests that they hold great potential in the treatment of mental illnesses such as major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. [5] [6] These findings have spurred a push among mainstream actors — such as Johns Hopkins, Yale, the University of California, Berkeley, and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York — to pursue further research into psychedelics. [7]Such research would be abetted by stripping psychedelics of their Schedule I status. Furthermore, psilocybin – widely known as “magic mushrooms'' – has been legalized in Oregon and Colorado and other states are set to follow suit, representing a trend toward the legalization of psychedelics for recreational use in addition to medical use. [8] Regardless of where one stands on the issue of legalizing psychedelics, the fact that this issue is even up for contention signifies a profound shift in the perception of drugs in the United States, where even alcohol was federally prohibited a century ago.

In considering how psychedelics went from receiving a federal ban half a century ago to being widely accepted by the public and medical researchers today, it appears that this shift has been driven by the confluence of four factors. [9] The first of these factors is the positive portrayal of psychedelics in the popular media, which has promoted enthusiasm about their benefits to mental health. [10] The second factor is a pushback against the criminalization of drugs in the aftermath of the war on drugs, which is reflected not only by the legalization of psychedelics but also by the legalization of marijuana in many states. [11] The third factor is the support given to psychedelic legalization by socioeconomically advantaged actors, be they wealthy and influential individual enthusiasts or reputable academic institutions. [12] The fourth and final factor is the financial benefits of psychedelic legalization, both for private institutions through the sale of psychedelics for medical or recreational use and for the government through tax revenues that may be generated from psychedelics. [13] The widespread legalization of certain psychedelics — most notably psilocybin — has become a very real possibility, and supporters of legalization point to not just their demonstrated medical benefit but also their safety relative to other drugs, as psychedelics are apparently non-toxic and non-addictive. [14] Others are more cautious, arguing that more research is needed to understand the benefits and risks of psychedelics, particularly as they relate to individuals who are predisposed to severe mental illness. [15]

It appears that broad swaths of the public hold a laissez-faire view of psychedelics that runs counter to the United States’ puritanical heritage. This attitude is nothing new – August Vollmer, widely recognized as the father of modern policing, wrote that drug use should not be policed all the way back in 1936 – but never has it received such strong public support; in fact, a Pew Research Poll from 2014 showed that two-thirds of Americans support the decriminalization of drugs. [16] [17] Furthermore, it is not just the public that is pushing for the legalization of psychedelics but individuals and institutions in power, lending the weight of the establishment to the psychedelic legalization movement. Just how far the legalization of psychedelics will go in the United States remains to be seen. Only two states have legalized psilocybin as of 2022 — though others are poised to follow suit — and if the widespread use of psychedelics produces unforeseen consequences as naysayers of legalization fear it may, a second moral panic against psychedelics may ensue. [18] Yet it appears that in the aftermath of the war on drugs and amid a mental health crisis that traditional psychiatric interventions have failed to curb, America is ready to give psychedelics a second chance. [19]

NOTES:

1. Conrad Sproul, “‘Don't Kill My Buzz, Man!" - Explaining the Criminalization of Psychedelic Drugs,” Oregon Undergraduate Research Journal (University of Oregon, June 1, 2021), https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/26389.

2. Sproul, “‘Don't Kill My Buzz, Man!"

3. “Overview of Controlled Substances and Precursor Chemicals,” USC Environmental Health & Safety (USC Administrative Operations), accessed November 18, 2022, https://ehs.usc.edu/research/cspc/chemicals/.

4. Sproul, “‘Don't Kill My Buzz, Man!"

5. Sproul, “‘Don't Kill My Buzz, Man!"

6. Andrew Jacobs, “The Psychedelic Revolution Is Coming. Psychiatry May Never Be the Same.,” The New York Times (The New York Times, May 9, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/09/health/psychedelics-mdma-psilocybin-molly-mental-health.html.

7. Jacobs, “The Psychedelic Revolution Is Coming.”

8. Danica Jefferies, “Colorado Just Legalized ‘Magic Mushrooms,’ an Idea That’s Growing Nationwide,” NBCNews.com (NBCUniversal News Group, November 11, 2022), https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/magic-mushrooms-psilocybin-map-colorado-us-states-rcna55980.

9. William R. Smith and Paul S. Appelbaum, “Two Models of Legalization of Psychedelic Substances,” JAMA (U.S. National Library of Medicine, August 24, 2021), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8753745/.

10. Smith and Appelbaum, “Two Models of Legalization.”

11. Smith and Appelbaum, “Two Models of Legalization.”

12. Smith and Appelbaum, “Two Models of Legalization.”

13. Smith and Appelbaum, “Two Models of Legalization.”

14. Sproul, “‘Don't Kill My Buzz, Man!"

15. Smith and Appelbaum, “Two Models of Legalization.”

16. Annalee Newitz, “How the Father of Modern Policing 'Abolished' the Police,” The New York Times (The New York Times, June 3, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/opinion/august-vollmer-abolish-police.html.

17. Sproul, “‘Don't Kill My Buzz, Man!"

18. Jefferies, “Colorado Just Legalized ‘Magic Mushrooms.’”

19. Deidre McPhillips, “90% Of US Adults Say the United States Is Experiencing a Mental Health Crisis, CNN/KFF Poll Finds,” CNN (Cable News Network, October 5, 2022), https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/05/health/cnn-kff-mental-health-poll-wellness.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Jacobs, Andrew. “The Psychedelic Revolution Is Coming. Psychiatry May Never Be The Same.” The New York Times. The New York Times, May 9, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/09/health/psychedelics-mdma-psilocybin-molly- mental-health.html.

Jefferies, Danica. “Colorado Just Legalized ‘Magic Mushrooms,’ an Idea That’s Growing Nationwide.” NBCNews.com. NBC Universal News Group, November 11, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/magic-mushrooms-psilocybin-map-colorado-us-

states-rcna55980.

McPhillips, Deidre. “90% Of US Adults Say the United States Is Experiencing a Mental Health Crisis, CNN/KFF Poll Finds.” CNN. Cable News Network, October 5, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/05/health/cnn-kff-mental-health-poll-wellness.

Newitz, Annalee. “How the Father of Modern Policing 'Abolished' the Police.” The New York Times. The New York Times, June 3, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/opinion/august-vollmer-abolish-police.html.

“Overview of Controlled Substances and Precursor Chemicals.” USC Environmental Health & Safety. USC Administrative Operations. Accessed November 18, 2022. https://ehs.usc.edu/research/cspc/chemicals/.

Smith, William R., and Paul S. Appelbaum. “Two Models of Legalization of Psychedelic Substances.” JAMA. U.S. National Library of Medicine, August 24, 2021. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8753745/.

Sproul, Conrad. “‘Don't Kill My Buzz, Man!" - Explaining the Criminalization of Psychedelic Drugs.” Oregon Undergraduate Research Journal. University of Oregon, June 1, 2021. https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/26389.