DEA should approve psilocybin therapy for the terminally ill, says Congressman

By Nina Zdinjak

MP Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) encourages his colleagues to support him in calling for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to allow terminally ill patients to legally use psilocybin as a trial treatment, Marijuana Moment reported.

“In recent years there has been increasing evidence to point to the safety and effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted therapy as a potential method of caring for people with treatment-resistant depression and / or anxiety,” Blumenauer wrote to his MPs.

Photo by eskymaks / Getty Images

Lawsuit against DEA

While ongoing studies have shown the early potential of psychedelic treatment, the DEA is still denying its access. That led to a lawsuit in March by a Washington state doctor asking for government guidance on how to treat end-stage psilocybin mushrooms to his patients and was told it was illegal and there was no way to do it.

This lawsuit against the DEA is now pending in the U.S. Ninth District Court of Appeals, with the Washington State Attorney General’s office assisting the plaintiffs. The DEA moved to dismiss the lawsuit due to lack of jurisdiction.

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It is important to note that Congress and 41 states have accepted procedural laws that allow terminally ill patients to try investigational treatments that are still approved for general use. Based on this, the letter indicates that the DEA “failed” to comply with the law.

Urgent reason

In the letter to DEA administrator Anne Milgram, who was appointed by President Joe Biden and approved by the Senate in the summer, Blumenauer stressed that this was an urgent matter.

RELATED: DEA Increases Psychedelic Production, Shifts Cocaine Derivatives – Could Cannabis Be Next?

“There is an urgent need to ensure that patients currently suffering from an incurable disease can choose psilocybin treatment,” the letter said. “We urge you to act quickly to ensure that the DEA complies with the enacted RTT Act and enables terminally ill patients to receive psilocybin for therapeutic use. We thank you for your attention on this urgent matter. “

The letter will be closed for signatures on Friday and is expected to reach the DEA later this month.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.