“The question of whether to create a psilocybin therapeutic access program is not about if, but how it will be implemented.”
By Jessica Nielson, Minnesota Psychedelic Medicine Task Force via Minnesota Reformer
The Minnesota Legislature in 2023 created the Psychedelic Medicine Task Force, which was charged with evaluating whether we should expand access to psychedelic medicines here to help address the rampant mental health crisis.
The backdrop: Promising therapies like psilocybin-assisted treatments for depression, addiction and trauma are gaining traction towards approval by the Food and Drug Administration, and other states like Oregon and Colorado have already legalized therapeutic access.
Wait, what are psychedelics you might ask? They are a class of drugs made illegal (Schedule I status) in 1970 with the birth of the Controlled Substances Act by the Nixon administration. In the 1950s through about 1970, they were gaining traction at psychiatric clinics, where they were being used to treat mental health conditions and alcohol abuse. At the same time, the hippies were also using them as part of the countercultural movement that was protesting the Vietnam War and supporting the Civil Rights Movement.
The Controlled Substances Act effectively launched the War on Drugs and halted progress on
Read full article on Marijuana Moment
