Officials at two agencies within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have acknowledged in a letter to two U.S. senators that federal prohibition makes it harder to study the benefits of psychedelics, requiring researchers to jump through additional regulatory hoops.
The four-page letter, which was shared with Marijuana Moment, is a response to Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), who last month wrote to the heads of the NIH and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking for an update on psychedelics research. The lawmakers argued that federal prohibition has stymied research into the efficacy and safety of the drugs despite growing evidence of their potential benefits.
“Because psychedelic drugs are controlled substances,” the June 15 letter from the directors of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) says, “one additional regulatory consideration for basic and applied research using psychedelic drugs is that these studies must also follow Drug Enforcement (DEA) requirements, including registration, inspection, and certification of the drugs. These requirements apply to all psychedelic drugs, including natural or botanical products.”
The officials said early research shows that psychedelics do have medical potential, but they signaled in the letter
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