Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code provides tax exemptions for qualifying charitable organizations, like religious groups. Naturally, religious groups that use psychedelics want 501(c)(3) status. But the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – like many of its counterpart agencies – refuses to play ball. In 2021, a group called the Iowaska Church of Healing took the
The use of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) for therapeutic purposes gains traction Last month, the NBA and its players association reached a tentative deal that the league would no longer test players for marijuana. Indeed, the NBA is lifting its ban on marijuana in the new collective bargaining agreement. Meanwhile, the NFL and its players agreed
A few weeks ago, we held a webinar about ketamine regulation and the future of psychedelic medicine (for a recording, click here). At the time, there were big changes on the horizon for ketamine telehealth. In the last few weeks, there have been a few pretty significant developments that merit some attention. For some background,
Washington’s House and Senate have both approved the “Washington Psilocybin Services Act” (SB 5263) and the bill awaits Governor Jay Inslee’s signature. Psilocybin is a schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act and is the psychoactive or “hallucinogenic” component of magic mushrooms. Washington appears set to follow in the footsteps of Oregon and
The Oregon psilocybin program has a residency requirement. I explained how it works here, and wrote “queue the crazy business structures.” Because the program is off to a slow start (see here and here) I haven’t received as many crazy requests as expected. Well, that changed last week when I received a proposal that made
There are lots of psychedelics and psychedelic adjacent substances that are not scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Recently I wrote about amanita muscaria mushrooms and their legal status. Today, I want to talk about a different one: salvia divinorum. Salvia divinorum Salvia divinorum is a psychedelic substance. It was often used for religious
Amanita muscaria (also known as fly agaric) is a type of mushroom with hallucinogenic properties. It is also not listed on any schedule of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). So of course, people want to make and sell it. But what is it? And is it legal? Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) Amanita muscaria is a
Last week, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) awarded a pair of psilocybin manufacturer licenses. First two! Congrats to Tori Arbrust of Satori Farms PDX, and Andres Met of Satya Therapeutics, known to many of us from the Oregon cannabis program. We should also congratulate OHA, which had aimed to issue manufacturing licenses by the end
Among the emerging medical uses for MDMA and psilocybin is their relative dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Although a Schedule I drug in the United States, DMT increasingly is the subject of study for its potential efficacy in treating a wide array of mental-health conditions including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Much of this research is occurring outside of
In the next few years, the FDA will likely approve drug formulations containing psilocybin and MDMA. While there are still many unknowns concerning how psilocybin and MDMA-based drug therapies will be regulated, we believe that many of the same trends we have seen over the last few years in ketamine therapy will apply to these
