Harvard Law School Hosts Webinar to Discuss Psychedelics Policy Reform

A few weeks ago, advocates of psychedelic reform discussed the decriminalization of drugs and decreasing stigma surrounding the use of these substances during a webinar hosted by Harvard Law School. The webinar coincided with the launch of the Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Policy. The project is a three-year initiative to study the social, legal and economic implications of psychedelic substances.

Earl F. Blumenauer, a Democratic U.S. Representative in Congress and longtime marijuana reform advocate, stated in his opening remarks that he hopes that the historic progress on psychedelic decriminalization seen in Oregon will be extended to the federal level. The state of Oregon decriminalized the possession of all controlled substances last year. Blumenauer added that the general public was in favor of drug reform, urging federal legislators to update the policies to align with the views of the American public.

One of the panelists, Senator Scott Wiener of the state of California, recently introduced a drug reform measure in the state that was inspired by Oregon’s initiative. The measure would decriminalize the possession of various psychedelics in California, including MDMA and psilocybin. During the webinar, the senator argued that individuals shouldn’t be arrested or incarcerated for using and possessing these substances.

Executive director of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines Beatriz C. Labate stated that the discussion on psychedelic reform should prioritize indigenous voices, explaining that there existed a branch of the movement that was disrespectful to indigenous people. She noted that activists from this branch of the reform movement had vulgarized, vandalized, disrespected and disregarded the genuine leadership of the Native American Church in America.

Wiener seems to share the same sentiment because indigenous perspectives were considered when the California decriminalization measure was being revised. The bill didn’t include peyote on the list of substances to be decriminalized because there were individuals and entities, including the Native American Church, that believed that its decriminalization would cause peyote tourism, despite the existing federal protections for indigenous practitioners.

A neuroscience researcher at the National Institutes of Health who was part of the webinar, David Shurtleff stated that research on psychedelics was the key to decreasing stigma surrounding their use. He explained that unbiased objective and rigorous research would be useful in helping reduce stigma.

In an email, one of the moderators of the panel Dustin Marlan revealed that he hoped the webinar could help reduce some of the stigma surrounding psychedelic substances. The push to dispel misinformation and stigma against psychedelic substances is also being aided by companies such as Delic Holdings Inc. (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF) that operate media channels through which science-backed information on psychedelics can be shared.

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