Marijuana Moment
A Seattle doctor specializing in end-of-life care filed a formal petition with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) this week challenging the government’s Schedule I classification of psilocybin, the main psychoactive component of psychedelic mushrooms. The petition, dated Tuesday, requests the agency to reschedule psilocybin as a less-restricted Schedule II drug, pointing to its relatively low potential for abuse and “exceptional promise in relieving debilitating symptoms in those with intractable and otherwise untreatable illness,” including the severe anxiety and depression that can result from a terminal illness. “The original placement of psilocybin,” the document says, “was the result of a substantial overestimation of the risk of harm and abuse potential, not rigorous science.”
As part of the suit, attorneys general from eight U.S. states and the District of Columbia filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the patients, noting the therapeutic potential of not only psilocybin but also other currently illegal drugs, including as MDMA.
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Seattle Doctor Files DEA Petition To Reschedule Psilocybin For Medical Use
