Psychedelic substances are still illegal in the United States, but are decriminalized in Oregon and Colorado. However, MDMA is nearing legalization for use in PTSD therapy as recent research has found it to be very effective in managing PTSD.

Grinnell College

Following the War on Drugs, psychedelic research stalled. It was not until 2000 that regulatory approval was acquired to resume psychedelic research, and not until 2006 that interest in psychedelic research was properly renewed.

Psychedelic research after the War on Drugs

Carhart-Harris, R. L., & Goodwin, G. M. (2017). The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic Drugs: Past, Present, and Future. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 42(11), 2105–2113. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2017.84

Dyck E. (2015). LSD: a new treatment emerging from the past. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 187(14), 1079–1080. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.141358

Hamill, J., Hallak, J., Dursun, S. M., & Baker, G. (2019). Ayahuasca: Psychological and Physiologic Effects, Pharmacology and Potential Uses in Addiction and Mental Illness. Current neuropharmacology, 17(2), 108–128. https://doi.org/10.2174/1570159X16666180125095902

Johns Hopkins Center for psychedelic and Consciousness Research. Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/research/psychedelics-research 

NIDA. 2021, April 13. What is the history of MDMA?. Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/mdma-ecstasy-abuse/what-is-the-history-of-mdma on 2023, November 3

Nuwer, R. (2023, September 14). MDMA therapy inches closer to approval. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/14/health/mdma-ptsd-psychedelics.html

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