Organization intends to reschedule psilocybin mushrooms in UN categorization

The International Therapeutic Psilocybin Rescheduling Initiative (ITPRI) launched a campaign on January 11th to achieve a worldwide reform of medicinal mushrooms.

The organization argues that the outdated 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances Act is long overdue for some changes. While the law was created to target harmful drugs, ITPRI argues that the recent therapeutic evidence and effectiveness of psilocybin warrant a change in planning.

“In most countries, legal control over psilocybin arises from its Appendix I status under the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances,” ITPRI wrote in a press release. “For dangerous drugs that pose a particularly serious public health risk and have little or no therapeutic value, List I drugs are severely restricted in their scientific and medical use. The license, custody, security, manufacturing, quantity, and import / export restrictions set out in Appendix I lead to a level of regulatory control and oversight that is considerably more complex than the other three Appendices to the Convention. As a result, researchers wishing to study psilocybin face numerous regulatory hurdles that can significantly increase the cost, complexity and duration of research and negatively impact ethical approvals, funding and collaboration. “

According to ITPRI, the United Nations Psychotropic Substances Act of 1971 describes a List I substance as “substances whose misuse is a particularly serious risk to public health and which, if at all, have very limited therapeutic benefits”.

Despite the growing potential of psilocybin as a medical treatment, progress has been hampered by the 51-year-old United Nations Convention. Professor David Nutt, director of the Center for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London and founder of drug science, described the setback. “Psilocybin’s Schedule I status has severely limited – and continues to limit – neuroscientific research and treatment development for patients.” Drug Science is one of many partners supporting this effort, including the Beckley Foundation, MAPS, Mind Medicine Australia, Nierika AC, Open Foundation and Osmond Foundation.

ITPRI’s plan is to inspire United Nations nations to initiate a review. “To ensure equitable access to psilocybin as a global public good, ITPRI is engaging, training and mobilizing officials and other stakeholders without the ecosystem of UN institutions, permanent member state missions and NGOs that will be critical to reviewing and changing planning “Says the organization about its debt rescheduling plan. Once the process begins, the World Health Organization (WHO) will issue a critical review that could lead to a rescheduling recommendation if two-thirds of member countries agree.

ITPRI co-founder and CEO Christopher Koddermann was convinced that the new ITPRI campaign will help move things forward. “Given today’s scientific understanding of the high potential therapeutic value and low risk of addiction to psilocybin, a change in its status as a List I drug is long overdue.”

In December 2020, the UN Narcotics Commission voted to reclassify cannabis, and recently the UN voted against a ban on kratom in December 2021. In addition, many states and cities in the US have agreed to decriminalize mushrooms to allow medical patients to have easier access to psilocybin mushrooms for treatment. The state of Oregon was one of the first to legalize psilocybin mushrooms.

Companies like Dr. Bronner’s are doing everything they can to support the legalization of psilocybin in both Connecticut and U.S. Medicine. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson considered psilocybin therapy last year. All of this and more are helping to change the worldview of psilocybin as a medicine.