Activism and Drug Policy Links

 Activism:

• Sensible Minnesota

  • Sensible Minnesota is a volunteer led group of community-centric individuals from diverse backgrounds passionate about making our neighborhoods safer and more inclusive for all those negatively impacted by the War on Drugs.

  • Collectively they work to educate the public through community outreach promoting societal change emphasizing compassion over isolation, restorative justice over incarceration, and public health over stigma.

• NORML

  • National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

  • NORML's mission is to move public opinion sufficiently to legalize the responsible use of marijuana by adults, and to serve as an advocate for consumers to assure they have access to high quality marijuana that is safe, convenient and affordable.

• Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)

  • Students for Sensible Drug Policy is an international grassroots network of students who are concerned about the impact of drug misuse on our communities, but who also know that the “War on Drugs” is failing our generation and our society.

  • SSDP mobilizes and empowers young people to participate in the political process, pushing for sensible policies to achieve a safer and more just future. SSDP does this while fighting back against counterproductive policies – in particular, those that directly harm students and youth.

• Decriminalize Nature

  • A national movement to decriminalize psychedelic/entheogenic plants and fungi.

  • Successful resolutions have been passed in Denver and Oakland, with other cities following in their footsteps, including local efforts in Minneapolis!

Drug Policy:

• Controlled Substances Act

  • Schedule I Controlled Substances

    • Substances in this schedule have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse.

  • Schedule II Controlled Substances

    • Substances in this schedule have a high potential for abuse which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

  • Schedule III Controlled Substances

    • Substances in this schedule have a potential for abuse less than substances in Schedules I or II and abuse may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence.

  • Schedule IV Controlled Substances

    • Substances in this schedule have a low potential for abuse relative to substances in Schedule III.

  • Schedule V Controlled Substances

    • Substances in this schedule have a low potential for abuse relative to substances listed in Schedule IV and consist primarily of preparations containing limited quantities of certain narcotics.

  • Control and Enforcement

• Politics and Religious Freedom Restoration Act Make Strange Bedfellows:
  The Sessions Memo

  • Potential loophole in a recent memo from Jeff Sessions about the religious freedom and restoration act (RFRA) that may allow churches to use a psychedelic as sacrament.

    • Executive order 13798 (05/04/2017): Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty

    • Memorandum from Jeff Sessions (10/06/2017): A guidance issued to help administrative agencies and executive departments in the execution of this federal law

    • Ayahuasca Religious Protections during Trump Administration

• The abuse potential of medical psilocybin according to the 8 factors of the Controlled Substances Act.

  • Published May 10, 2018 by the group at Johns Hopkins University that has publishing their findings from psilocybin research since 2006. This is a review of abuse potential of psilocybin, the therapeutic benefits and safety profiles, and presented within the context of the controlled substances act for rescheduling recommendations for psilocybin from schedule I to schedule IV.