I think the UK is probably by far one of the worst countries when it comes to drug reform, for both medical and recreational purposes. I know this thread is about the medical use of psychedelics but looking at the way this country has behaved in the last decade when it comes to drug reform, saying that the UK is "on the brink of a psychedelic revolution" is just flat out delusional.

In 2011 the home office declared on behalf of the PM and therefore the conservative party that "We have no intention of liberalising our drugs laws. Drugs are illegal because they are harmful they destroy lives and cause untold misery to families and communities". Alcohol causing all those problems seems to get a free pass and is openly advertised for some reason.

Not too long after khat was banned in 2013 by Theresa May came her psychoactive substances act of 2016 literally banning all psychoactive substances as the name suggests, with alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and prescription medication being exempt. So anything deemed psychoactive is prosecutable and punishable. As the United States and the rest of the world looks forward in ending prohibition and finally putting an end to this "war on drugs" that has destroyed countless lives the UK wants to invest further.

It is important to note that cannabis which is vastly more popular and socially accepted than psychedelics became approved for medical use but this was only really put in place for a child who'm was hospitalised after having his CBD confiscated from him by the authorities. Even though it is now legal to be prescribed medical cannabis it's not done. You'll have better chances of being prescirbed benzodiazapines. Quoting Wikipedia "On 31 October 2020, it was reported that the NHS has been repeatedly refusing to fund medical cannabis for children with severe epilepsy. It was reported that at least twenty families are paying for private prescriptions after not being provided by the NHS"

Now looking at all this, even if psychedelics were to be approved for medical use i'm of the opinion it'll go the same route as medical cannabis or ketamine with zero quantity being prescribed. P.S one of the advocates in that article, prof David Nut was a government drug adviser who was fired after claiming that both MDMA and LSD were less harmful than alcohol.

Edit: I just wanna say in no way am I trying to disrespect you Jagube, I just can't see this happening in a country who's government is this backwards.

FWIW, nutmeg and other foodstuffs are also exempt from the UK Psychoactive Substances bungle. The UK government has no business saying what they think is harmful to society as long as alcohol and tobacco continue to be afforded special status - not to mention their handling of public health in recent years/months.

There was also the unfortunate case of the Shroom Liberation Front which was formed in the wake of the 2005 ban on psilocybin mushrooms. This was actively infiltrated and all of the funds were stolen.


Any kind of people-led social change is significantly more difficult when the police in the UK infiltrate and spy on non-violent activist groups.

You guys may be right, but if mushrooms became legalized for therapeutic use, even in limited and strictly controlled contexts, that would still be a revolution.

For one, they would have to be reclassified.
Another thing is the change in how society perceives them, and other psychedelics which are not that different.

Fresh mushrooms were legal until 2005. How about repealing a law for a change, and come to mention it, pardoning and compensating those whose lives have been ruined by the drug war inquisition?

Lots of people out picking liberty caps this year as usual. Cant stop an old British tradition. Thats one good thing about the uk, although our laws are draconian on paper, police often turn a blind eye to 'soft'drugs. Friend of a friend got caught doing a fairly large scale weed grow and only got fined.

Friends of mine have been busted for picking liberty caps and, while one of the police thought it to be a complete waste of time to even be bothering with, another of them was determined to push the whole process onwards. The result was that these particular friends had to endure a costly, time-consuming, stressful, and ultimately pointless series of court appearances for collecting something which grows naturally in the countryside.

Oh, look...
I'll believe the bit about psilocybin when it happens. With the current state of British politics, that won't be for a long time.
Ahem.