Abstract
The United States is traveling with momentum toward a statutory framework in which the consumption of psilocybin for therapeutic purposes is legal. The psychedelic substance has already been legalized or decriminalized in several cities and states. Most countries, however, have seen no such movement toward legalization. This Note explores how the U.S. psilocybin movement could become a model for other countries to follow suit. Despite long-standing federal roadblocks, the U.S. is starting to excel in terms of individual activism, non-profit organization campaigning, and private investment.
Although psilocybin is subject to widely differing legal treatments throughout the world, it is undeniably on a path to decriminalization, legalization, and acceptance. The United States, although lagging on the federal level, is providing a unique view of how psilocybin decriminalization and medicalization can be achieved through state and local government, individual citizens, well-funded research, and exposure to the public. It remains to be seen how quickly these factors will lead to widespread change in the U.S., however, the early years of this movement have already revealed a lot of information about this process. Countries throughout the world, at earlier stages of legalization, may look to this progress and adopt their own versions of it to effectively achieve psilocybin legality.
Recommended Citation
Titus Scheid,
Shrooming Ahead: How the U.S. is Marching Toward Psilocybin Legalization and What Other Countries May Learn,
36 Fla. J. Int'l L.
247
(2024).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/fjil/vol36/iss1/6