DEA judge sets 10-day hearing on proposed ban for two psychedelic compounds

An administrative law judge with the Drug Enforcement Administration has scheduled a 10-day hearing for rulemaking related to the potential ban of two psychedelic compounds.

The hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12-22 this year, with a final meeting to be held Nov. 25, all in consideration of the DEA’s proposal to put 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetamine (DOC) in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, according to a notice dated July 31 and sent to Students for Sensible Drug Policy by the DEA.

The hearing dates were scheduled by Administrative Law Judge Paul Soeffing and are slated to run each day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the DEA hearing facility in Arlington, Virginia. Stakeholders both supportive and opposed to the ban are expected to present evidence and expert testimony on the matter, according to the notice.

The DEA has been trying to put the two compounds into Schedule I since April 2022, SSDP wrote on its website, but a hearing originally scheduled for December last year was delayed temporarily by a federal lawsuit that sought to stop the ban. That lawsuit was dismissed in June, according to court records, although the CEO of the company that filed the suit, Panacea Plant Sciences, told Marijuana Moment an appeal is ongoing.

For now, the dismissal essentially cleared the way for DEA to proceed with banning DOI and DOC.

SSDP has been among the psychedelics advocates trying to halt the ban, arguing that the move would be premature given that more evidence is emerging through clinical trials as to the potential medical benefits of psychedelic substances.

On its website, SSDP dubbed DOI and DOC “two important research chemicals” that have been shown to have promising applications for “pain management, combatting anxiety and depression, and preventing overdose.”

“Scheduling DOI and DOC would create serious impediments to potentially life-saving research,” SSDP wrote. “SSDP again demanded a hearing to stop the scheduling, and is currently engaged in a crucial legal battle against the DEA.”

The DEA press office did not have an immediate comment on the report.

Scheduling of DOI and DOC_Prehearing Ruling SSDP

The news follows another setback for psychedelic advocates that came earlier this month when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected a new drug application by Lykos Therapeutics for permission to begin selling its MDMA-based therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Also this week, the DEA announced a separate hearing that will be held Dec. 2 on the question of rulemaking for the rescheduling of marijuana.