Psilocybin Use Has ‘Surged’ But Federal Law Is A ‘Major Barrier’ To Research, Study Published By American Medical Association Says

A new scientific review published by the American Medical Association (AMA)
shows that use of psilocybin has “surged” in the U.S. in recent years amid
the decriminalization movement and in light of “promising clinical trial
results” on its therapeutic potential.

But the paper, released on Wednesday, also points out that current federal
laws present “a major barrier” to researchers gaining a better
understanding of the psychedelic substance’s true impacts.

As a result, similar to what’s been observed during the state-level
marijuana legalization push, “public access and enthusiasm are outpacing
regulatory oversight and scientific understanding, posing potential risks
to public health,” researchers said.

An analysis of epidemiological and pharmacological studies on
psilocybin-related trends from January 1-December 31, 2024—which also
examined parallels to cannabis policy shifts—showed a sharp increase in the
use of psychedelic mushrooms, “particularly among adults aged 19 to 50
years.”

The researchers from the University of Colorado said this increase in usage
rates “coincided with a substantial increase in poison control center calls
related to psychedelics,” and data from jurisdictions that have
decriminalized entheogenic substances like psilocybin reveals “more than
20-fold variability in psilocybin potency and inconsistent levels of minor
tryptamines across mushroom strains.”

“The expanding use of unregulated psilocybin mushrooms, combined with high
variability in composition and common co-use with other substances, raises
urgent public health concerns. Existing clinical data are insufficient to
guide harm reduction or policy. There is a pressing need to pivot from
controlled efficacy trials to real-world research on psilocybin use,
including public education, potency testing, and age-specific risk
assessment.”

The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA) Psychiatry, said it’s “critical” that the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) and others in the academic community “prioritize
research on the risks and potential benefits of natural
psilocybin-containing mushrooms to inform harm reduction strategies.”

Researchers also zeroed in on parallels between cannabis and psilocybin
usage and the challenges of studying their risks and benefits given their
status as Schedule I drugs under the federal Controlled Substances Act
(CSA).

“Psychedelic drug policy in the US is evolving rapidly, reflected in the
steady increase of reform bills introduced each year, and is projected to
follow a legislative trajectory somewhat similar to that of cannabis,” the
review says. “Currently, both cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms are
becoming more accessible and more widely accepted by the public and
scientific communities.”

However, the authors cautioned that, “as with cannabis in its early stages,
use of psychedelic mushrooms is advancing faster than the science, creating
potential risks for consumers and raising public health and safety
concerns.”

While the review says researching psilocybin mushrooms is more complicated
than researching marijuana because of a lack of access to whole mushrooms
(as opposed to synthetic psilocybin), that isn’t necessarily the case any
longer, as of this year. The Scottsdale Research Institute (SRI) is
federally approved to produce natural psilocybin for study purposes, and one
of the initial grants for such research was approved in Arizona last month.

Even so, the authors said “very little is known about the acute or
long-term effects of naturally occurring psilocybin as it is consumed by
the public,” and, “in this way, Schedule I classification remains a major
barrier to understanding the real-world public health impact of psychedelic
mushrooms.”

The researchers said that the purpose of their review isn’t about
advocating for “stricter laws or greater enforcement” of non-clinical
psychedelic use. Rather, it’s to “underscore the urgent need for new
research programs to address the public health implications of a social
environment that is already promoting greater use of psilocybin and other
psychedelics.”

“Much like cannabis, psilocybin carries both risks and potential benefits,
which may be very different for different people depending on age, health
status, and context of use,” they said.

“Conducting research on naturally occurring psilocybin mushrooms will not
be easy, given the Schedule I status and the absence of a federally
approved source of mushrooms for research. Nonetheless, given the sharp
increase in consumer interest and the lack of generalizable research on
naturally occurring psilocybin mushrooms, it is critical that the
scientific community and funding agencies pivot from a narrow focus on
clinical trials of synthetic psilocybin to the study of real-world
psilocybin use and treat this shift as a public health priority.”

Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in August formally
requested that federal health officials conduct a medical scientific review
on psilocybin in response to a long-pending rescheduling petition.

Under the Biden administration, there was stepped-up interest in examining
certain psychedelics, with novel guidance for researchers from FDA in the
pursuit of potential approvals, but the agency ultimately rejected an
application to make MDMA-assisted therapy available for the treatment of
PTSD.

In May, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins touted the fact that
he’s “one of the first” secretaries of the agency with a commitment to
exploring psychedelics as a potential therapy option for veterans.

President Donald Trump’s latest surgeon general pick, Casey Means, has also
been public about her own experience benefiting from psilocybin

Meanwhile, Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Lou Correa (D-CA)—co-chairs of the
Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus—introduced a
bill in April to provide $30 million in funding annually to establish
psychedelics-focused “centers for excellence” at VA facilities, where
veterans could receive novel treatment involving substances like
psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine.

Bergman has also expressed optimism about the prospects of advancing
psychedelics reform under Trump, arguing that the administration’s efforts
to cut spending and the federal workforce will give agencies “spines” to
tackle such complex issues.

Collins also recently met with a military veteran who’s become an advocate
for psilocybin access to discuss the therapeutic potential of psychedelic
medicine for the veteran community.

Earlier this year, the secretary separately informed Trump during a Cabinet
meeting that his agency is “opening up the possibility of psychedelic
treatment” for veterans.

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To Research, Study Published By American Medical Association Says appeared
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