Novel ethical and policy issues in psychiatric uses of psychedelic substances.
William R Smith, Paul S. Appelbaum
Neuropharmacology September 15, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109165 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that classic psychedelics and related substances pose relatively novel ethical and policy challenges stemming from their psychoactive properties, their emergence from unregulated "underground" settings, rapid commercialization, and their rapid shift from Schedule 1 status toward legalized use, all shaped by limits in the current evidence base; the authors illustrate each issue and propose ways to address them. |
Abstract
Classic psychedelics and related substances have shown promising initial research results. However, they raise a number of relatively novel ethical and policy challenges in light of their psychoactive properties, their emergence from the unregulated "underground" settings in which they have been used, their rapid commercialization, and the means and speed with which they are moving from Schedule 1 status to legalized use. All of these issues are affected by the current limits to the evidence base on use of psychedelics. Here we survey these novel challenges, illustrating the issues raised regarding each, and offering suggestions for how to address them.