Abstract

The pace and variety of psychedelic drug policy reform efforts is accelerating as the evidence supporting the potential for psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat a wide range of mental and physical health problems accumulates. Governments from Australia to North America have begun to loosen restrictions on psychedelic drugs, but in practice these substances are currently only available in the narrowest of circumstances to very few patients. While each country has its own (or even multiple subnational) regulatory structure, there are also international agreements under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances that could affect countries’ rescheduling and regulatory decisions. Even after policies change, there are several other roadblocks to patient access that must be addressed.

This symposium will survey the state of psychedelic drug policy reform and engage several speakers—as well as the audience itself—on three key questions:

– What are the common policy and access issues that multiple countries are currently grappling with?

– Are there any early models of success that could potentially be replicated under other regulatory regimes?

– What steps can regulators, policymakers, and advocates take to advance equitable access to psychedelic-assisted therapy?

We will present a variety of psychedelic policy reform and access efforts taking place in different countries and regions as well as supranational and international policy reform discussions.