Decriminalizing some mind-altering drugs for personal use could reduce the stigma surrounding the use of certain substances with medicinal properties, experts say.
British Columbia has decided to move forward with this policy. Starting next year, people who have in their possession 2.5 grams or less of certain so-called hard drugs for their personal use will no longer be arrested or charged. The drugs will no longer be seized either.
“The police will instead offer information about the health and social assistance available to them. She will even be able to refer cases if asked to do so,” the province said in May.
Zach Walsh, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia, says the war on drugs is a major cause of the crisis that has led to many overdose deaths in the country. It is also one of the reasons why one of the best treatments for mental health problems, therapy combined with the consumption of mind-altering drugs, is not used.
The ostracism that accompanies the consumption of psychotropic products and harder drugs dates back to the 1970s, he recalls. However, the attitude of the population towards them is changing, underlines Professor Walsh.
According to him, psychotropic drugs, opioids and stimulants should be treated differently.
“When it was clear that the war on drugs was lost, we saw decriminalization, we saw greater acceptability of psychotropic drugs. They can benefit mental health. »
Several experts say they have noticed a greater interest in psychotropic drugs. Clinical trials of mind-altering substances and their derivatives have been given the green light worldwide.
Damien Kettlewell, CEO of Clairvoyant Therapeutics, is testing dozens of people to see if psilocybin, an active ingredient in magic mushrooms, can be used for alcoholism.
Mr Kettlewell also says that the decriminalization of certain illicit products could reduce the stigma against therapies involving the consumption of consciousness-altering products, such as psilocybin, ketamine, LSD or MDMA (the active component of ecstasy). .
“I encourage skeptics to examine the history of the War on Drugs. LSD was used effectively against alcoholism by psychotherapists in California in the 1950s. The founder of Alcoholics Anonymous attributed the idea of founding this organization to an LSD trip he experienced in the 1930s. Psilocybin was researched extensively in the 1950s and 1960s, but it all came to a halt. »
He adds that the deformation served to demonize these substances. “They have been used by Aboriginal communities in positive ways for thousands of years,” says Kettlewell.
Origin Therapeutics CEO Alexander Somjen agrees.
“Decriminalization increases awareness around addiction and mental health issues. It increases the need to find new forms of treatment, he says. Psilocybin has the potential to help people see the world differently by creating a new narrative pattern in their brain, as if it had an ‘erase’ function.
Professor Walsh believes that eliminating the stigma of drugs is a step in the right direction. “Like any war, it takes time to get used to peace again. This is what we see little by little, piece by piece. »