Parallel-access compounds: unregulated availability as a consideration in research ethics
Edward Jacobs, Edward Palmer, Celia J. A. Morgan
JME Practical Bioethics July 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1136/jmepb-2026-000292 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Research ethics Term time Clinical trial Ethics committee Clinical ethics Engineering ethics Law and economics Public relations Internet privacy Risk analysis engineering |
| Key points | Proposes that compounds available in both regulated clinical pipelines and unregulated markets, termed "parallel-access compounds," deserve recognition in research ethics. |
Abstract
Some investigational compounds exist in both regulated clinical pipelines and unregulated street or online markets. Ketamine, psychedelics and cannabis are all under active clinical investigation while remaining accessible, in unregulated form, through illicit channels without clinician oversight. We propose the term parallel-access compounds for this category and argue that it deserves recognition in research ethics (see box 1). The most familiar examples are psychoactive, but non-psychoactive examples also exist: retatrutide, an investigational triple hormone-receptor agonist meant to be available only to trial participants, has nonetheless been illicitly manufactured and sold as a weight-loss drug.1
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta-8, Delta-10, HHC, THC-O, THCP, and THCV: What Should We Call These Products? | 2023 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Model Psychoses Induced by LSD-25 in Normals | 1956 | Historical analysis | |
| Is there a specific ‘cannabis psychosis’? | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Peak-experience and the entheogenic use of cannabis in world religions | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Out of Harm's Way?: Illicit Drug Use, Medicalization and the Law | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |