[WATCH] Turn on, tune in, legalise: Could psychedelics be next in line for legalisation?

Psychedelic drugs could become ‘the new cannabis’ amid increasing calls around the world to destigmatize and legalise substances such as magic mushrooms for medical and recreational use.

This, according to senior policy analyst, Steve Rolles, is due to certain similarities between cannabis and certain psychedelics. Psychedelics, while still having their own risks, are on the lower end of the risk spectrum, he said.

Rolles is a senior drug policy analyst at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation in the UK and a frequent participant in the public discussion of drug law and policy. Sitting down with MaltaToday, Rolles spoke about the recent rise in acceptance of psychedelic drugs, after global moral panic following their association with the hippie movement in the United States in the 1960s.

Rolles was in Malta to participate in a thematic roundtable focussed on decriminalisation, social justice and sustainable development organised by the Authority for the Responsible Use of Canabis, the Maltese regulator of the cannabis sector.

Psychedelics have been used for millennia

Indigenous societies have long utilized psychedelic substances such as peyote and psilocybin mushrooms in various rituals and spiritual practices for centuries. During the 1960s, psychedelics gained significant popularity and acceptance within the counterculture movement.

Due to legal restrictions, research on psychedelics faced significant challenges, resulting in most studies being discontinued by the mid-1970s. In light of recent promising findings, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recognized psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression as a breakthrough therapy. Consequently, several cities and countries now permit the use of psychedelic drugs for therapeutic or spiritual purposes.

“In the UK, magic mushrooms were legal from 2003 to 2005, and there was an open market in magic mushrooms. It wasn’t even regulated at all. Nothing really bad happened,” explained Rolles. In fact, he noted, a noticeable amount of drug users shifted from some illegal drugs, to magic mushrooms, a trend which Rolles sees as positive, due to the substance being safer than drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

Rolles said that during this brief period in the UK where prohibition of the drug was lifted, they weren’t associated with significant public health harms, and so, “it seems like a natural next step”.

“I’m not pro magic mushroom use, I’m just being pragmatic,” Rolles clarified.

But could we be moving from the 1960s counter-culture era phrase ‘Turn on, tune in, drop out’ to ‘turn on, tune in, legalise’?

Legalisation to end the war on drugs

Beyond magic mushrooms and other psychedelic substances, Rolles acknowledged that while, the legalisation of drugs is “a difficult debate,” it is one of the few long-term solutions for tackling drug traffickers and the violence which is brought about by organised crime.

This however, according to Rolles is only possible if lower risk drugs, such as cannabis and psychedelics are first to be legalised, and should only be legalised in a cautious and responsible manner.

“Colorado and Oregon have legalised magic mushrooms in a similar way that Malta has legalised cannabis, in that you can grow your own mushrooms,” he said.

Key to the success of ending the war on drugs, according to Rolles, is discarding the mentality associated with the war and making sure that the legalisation of the so-called ‘low risk drugs’ is done in an honest manner. Speaking about Malta and its attempt to take the first step, Rolles urged to “stay true to the principles of harm reduction, crime reduction and public safety,” while avoiding the risks of commercialisation.

Rolles commented on a common misconception regarding a link between a drug’s legality and its use, noting that while tobacco is legal, governments around the world have slowly implemented measures to discourage its consumption. “What we haven’t done is criminalise tobacco uses.” Despite this, he noted that tobacco use is declining slowly, as governments invest in public information campaigns, while not criminalising anyone who smokes, stating that responsible regulation is key.

The Maltese cannabis model

Rolles emphasised that one must not repeat the same mistakes with other drugs that were fully commercialised, such as alcohol and tobacco.

“I very much welcome the approach taken by Malta, (on cannabis) which feels to me like they’ve learnt their lessons from mistakes that were made on alcohol and tobacco in particular.” Rolles noted that as is the case with all drugs, tobacco and alcohol have risks linked to health and dependency, and despite this, the companies which sold these drugs were allowed to have massive power over legislators around the world. This, he says, lead to the companies having complete control over the markets with no regard to public health.

“We need to be very careful to not repeat those mistakes with cannabis.” In the case of Malta, Rolles applauded its model for moving away from commercialisation, even noting that this trait in the Maltese model is drawing attention from a number of countries that are looking to legalise cannabis themselves.

In fact, he said at the UN’s annual Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as well as the Brazilian Congress’s discussion on legalising cannabis, Malta is being seen as a leading example in this difficult reform.

Regarding the delay in setting up the associations in Malta, Rolles stated that, “these things do take time,” and has welcomed the caution of the Maltese model in what he described as a bold step forward. “I think it’s in everybody’s interest that this bold experiment is a success,” he said, while adding that many who once dreamt of legalising cannabis are very keen to see the Maltese model succeed.