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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its 2024 World Drug Report — an annual publication that provides a comprehensive, data-informed overview of global drug trends. The report analyzes patterns in drug trafficking routes, drug production, and consumption worldwide, as well as broader public health and policy ramifications. The World Drug Report serves as a tool for policymakers, law enforcement, and other officials to understand the global drug landscape, and its insights can inform strategies to reduce drug-related harm and promote public health. However, the report’s emphasis on drug trafficking and abuse has also been criticized for inadvertently supporting punitive policies and the ongoing criminalization of people who use drugs.
In this year’s edition, the section on key findings and issues contained an analysis of the resurgence of interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances, such as LSD, MDMA, psilocybin, and ketamine. The report attributed the renewed focus on psychedelics to the growing global burden of mental health disorders, and the promising results of clinical research. In the United States, some states have allowed access to psychedelics for “quasi-therapeutic” purposes, while Australia and a jurisdiction in Canada have legalized them for medical use.
READ: Are Teenagers Who Trip on Psychedelics More Likely to Develop Psychosis?
This shift has sparked burgeoning commercial interest and is promoting an environment that encourages broader access to psychedelics for unsupervised and non-medical purposes, said the report. The acceptance of psychedelics mirrors the legalization of recreational cannabis but is more motivated by desires for unsupervised therapeutic applications within mental health, mindfulness, spirituality, and overall well-being frameworks.
The report also noted that despite these policy changes, there is an absence of standardized scientific guidelines for the medical use of psychedelics. While scientific research has advanced quickly, recent reviews of clinical trials have highlighted significant challenges such as small sample sizes, the absence of control groups, biases in participant selection, short study durations, inadequate safeguards, and insufficient data on abuse and adverse events. There are also uncertainties regarding the authority of drug regulatory bodies to approve medication-assisted psychotherapies, which complicates the path toward formal medical approval.
“These constraints have the potential to open up parallel markets for psychedelics used for alleged medical benefits outside a formal medically-approved context,” the report concluded. “Such a practice could potentially compromise public health objectives… and increase the health risks associated with the unsupervised use of psychedelics with also an expansion of the illegal supply of these substances.”
DoubleBlind is a trusted resource for news, evidence-based education, and reporting on psychedelics. We work with leading medical professionals, scientific researchers, journalists, mycologists, indigenous stewards, and cultural pioneers. Read about our editorial policy and fact-checking process
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DoubleBlind Magazine does not encourage or condone any illegal activities, including but not limited to the use of illegal substances. We do not provide mental health, clinical, or medical services. We are not a substitute for medical, psychological, or psychiatric diagnosis, treatment, or advice. If you are in a crisis or if you or any other person may be in danger or experiencing a mental health emergency, immediately call 911 or your local emergency resources. If you are considering suicide, please call 988 to connect with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
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