by Seizures of psychedelic mushrooms nationwide by law enforcement officials have increased significantly in recent years as attitudes toward their use have become more permissive, according to a study. government funded study released on Tuesday.
The researchers found that law enforcement officers seized 1,800 pounds of mushrooms containing psilocybin in 2022, a 273 percent increase from 2017. Psilocybin is the psychoactive component of mushrooms commonly known as magic mushrooms.
Officials at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which commissioned the study, said the increase in magic mushroom seizures reflected increased use of the drugs, rather than an indication that drug enforcement officials were pursuing the substances. more aggressive than before.
The market for magic mushrooms, which are illegal under federal law, has boomed in recent years as several clinical studies have shown they can be effective as therapies to treat depression and other serious conditions. But many medical professionals say they are concerned that the hype surrounding psychedelics has advanced faster than the science.
Dr. Nora Volkow, director of NIDA, said preliminary clinical studies had shown that psychedelics could one day become an important tool for the treatment of psychiatric disorders, including addiction to other drugs. But he said he was concerned that many people were self-medicating with psychedelics.
“Psychedelic drugs have been touted as a potential cure for many health conditions without adequate research to support these claims,” Dr. Volkow said. “There are people who are very desperate for mental health care and there are companies who are very eager to make money by marketing substances as treatments or cures.”
In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration gave psilocybin a special designation accelerate research into its effectiveness as a treatment for depression, which could lead to approval for clinical use.
Promising clinical studies have galvanized a movement to legalize psychedelics in some states and cities. In 2020, Oregon voters approved a measure legalizing the therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms, and Colorado voters backed a similar measure two years later. Several cities have designated psychedelics as a low priority for authorities, often citing their therapeutic potential.
Experts say the changing legal landscape, along with media coverage of clinical studies, has driven demand for psychedelic treatment.
“All the positive coverage about psychedelics could be introducing the idea of using them to a new population that had never considered using them before,” he said. Jose J. Palamarprofessor of public health at New York University, lead investigator of the study of increased seizures of magic mushrooms.
Dr. Joshua S. Siegelpsychiatrist at Washington University in St. Louis, said patients with serious mental health problems were increasingly seeking guidance from doctors about the value of medications like magic mushrooms.
While psychedelics are safer than other drugs in terms of their potential to addiction and lethalityAccording to Dr. Siegel, they can also be destabilizing, especially for people with serious mental health problems.
“People can completely or partially lose touch with reality and behave in irrational and potentially dangerous ways,” he said.
As the nation grapples with an opioid overdose epidemic, experts say psychedelics have become a relatively low priority for federal law enforcement officials. The most recent from the Biden administration report on your drug control strategy, published in 2022, includes only one reference to psychedelics. There are dozens of mentions of opioids.
Companies that sell psychedelics cater to people struggling with depression and anxiety, and sell products through websites and encrypted messaging platforms. Several advertise on social media, promoting products such as small doses of magic mushrooms in pill form as an alternative to antidepressants.
