Should Terminally Ill Patients Have a Right to Try Psilocybin?
Reposted with permission from @SHALWETOKE
Should Terminally Ill Patients Have a Right to Try Psilocybin?
A group of oncologists, cancer patients, and the AIMS institute in Washington filed a Petition for Review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to stop the DEA from interfering with the Right to Try psilocybin for terminally ill patients.
What is the Right to Try?
The Right to Try laws are state laws that were created to allow patients especially terminally ill ones the right to make their own decisions about trying investigational drugs that have been approved for safety but not approved for final sale by the FDA, which often refuses to grant these exemptions for old school reasons.
The issue with psilocybin is that it’s classified as a Schedule 1 substance which has another restrictive hurdle dealing with the DEA which has rejected AIMS doctor’s access to psilocybin for therapeutic reasons even the Right to Try laws are allowed in 41 states including Washington where this case is being appealed.
The DEA’s argument, in this case, is that they could not waive any part of the controlled substances act, which bans psilocybin except for limited research purposes. The judges here are focused on whether this issue is even appealable.
Attorneys for AIMS argued that State statutes should be interpreted in a way that avoids the feds from interfering on matters that are traditionally left to states such as regulation of the medical profession.
They further argued that the purpose of these Right to Try laws, which were passed by Congress and state legislatures, was because they understood that the federal process for approval of these drugs was way too long especially for terminally ill patients
The DEA attorneys argued that the Controlled Substances Act did not allow it to grant waivers under Right to Try laws and therefore this whole issue is not subject to review
It’s a bit sticky because there is no precedent on these issues and the court did not state how or when it would rule
It does put pressure on courts to make pretty monumental decisions on substances that have traditionally been banned. Especially now since the stigma and viewpoints are changing rapidly around Psilocybin and other psychedelic drugs that offer medical benefits due to modern research skyrocketing in the last several years
This case is still pending.
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By: @SHALWETOKE
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