Policy
Alberta will become the first province in Canada to regulate psychedelics for official therapeutic use. This move is intended to protect the public by ensuring safe access to high-quality substances and providing trained professionals who will help facilitate the therapy sessions. The new policy will go into effect in January 2023.
Germany approved a plan to legalize cannabis nationwide, but now the European Union will need to decide whether to allow the country to move forward. Assuming things go according to plan, cannabis could become legal in Germany by 2024.
President Joe Biden announced mass pardons for people who have committed federal cannabis possession offenses in the United States. This is a major development from Biden, who has been quiet on the issue of drug policy reform after campaigning on marijuana decriminalization, rescheduling, and expungements for low-level cannabis convictions. As a part of this recent announcement he also called on governors across the country to pardon simple possession cases in each state.
Next week is the U.S. midterm election, and several states will vote on cannabis and psychedelic drug policy reforms. Here is a guide that goes into detail on each proposal.
Industry
Beckley Psytech has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire clinical-stage life sciences company Eleusis Therapeutics, which will bring several novel psychedelic compounds under the Beckley Psytech umbrella of psychedelic-based candidates.
Research
A study found that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy may be effective at treating eating disorder symptoms in adults with severe PTSD. Although these are promising findings, they are still preliminary and more research will need to be conducted to verify the study’s results.
The DEA proposed significant increases in the production of cannabis and psychedelics for next year. This will allow more psychedelic research to be conducted, which will in turn provide an even better understanding of the safety and efficacy regarding psychedelic substances.
Harm Reduction
The Multi-Disciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is getting ready for a trial involving a wrongful death civil lawsuit that began earlier this week. The case involves the death of a woman who attended the 2017 Lightning In A Bottle music festival. 20 year-old Baylee Ybarra Gatlin died while under care at the Zendo Project (MAPS’ harm reduction organization) and the lawsuit will determine whether MAPS is liable for financial damages incurred at the festival.
Miscellaneous
Unfortunately there were two criminal cases involving cannabis and psychedelics that did not turn out well. First, a Russian court upheld American basketball star Brittney Griner’s nine-year prison sentence. Earlier this year Griner was arrested in Russia for possessing less than one gram of cannabis oil. The U.S. government is attempting to work out a negotiation that may allow her to come back home sooner, but the details and result of that attempt are still to be determined.
And just a few countries over, a Polish couple was sentenced to eight years in prison for facilitating ayahuasca ceremonies at their home in the Czech Republic. This outcome, along with Brittney Griner’s loss at appealing her sentence, show that although the attitude toward psychedelics is loosening in some parts of the world, there are still places where you can be punished harshly for merely possessing or using these substances.
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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