������Ƶ

Psychedelics move into the spotlight. What to know in Michigan

A vendor bags psilocybin mushrooms at a cannabis marketplace. President Trump wants more research and more access to certain psychedelic drugs, citing their potential for treatment for mental health conditions. Still, nothing changes immediately. Photo credit: AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File.

by Robin Erb, Bridge Michigan

Psychedelic drugs may be having a moment in Michigan and nationwide.

In April, President Donald Trump signed an making them available to treat mental health conditions including depression and anxiety.

And in Michigan, the Democratic Party recently nominated Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit for state attorney general. In 2021, Savit that his office would not prosecute cases related to entheogenic plants, which are naturally occurring psychedelics.

Savit told Bridge he has “probably gotten more positive correspondence about this one policy” than any other in his role in the Washtenaw County prosecutor office.

Still, psychedelics have raised serious safety concerns that could limit further acceptance in Michigan and elsewhere.

Savit drug stance — along with decisions to restrict cash bail and decriminalize sex work — have drawn attacks by Republicans who say he “

And the White House green light for more research isn’t a stamp of safety, said , an addiction psychiatrist at Grand Rapids-based .

“We have to be very responsible about our messaging,” he said, citing ““unpredictable, potential negative side effects” of the drugs.

“It has some potential, but before we can call it medicine, we have to do a lot more research,” he said.

Aspirin from the bark of the willow tree. But, Khan said, “That doesn’t mean we tell people to go eat bark of trees.”

What happening in Michigan? 

Some Michigan cities have made moves since 2020 to increase access — or at least reduce legal barriers — to the drugs’ use.

, , and most recently, , have decriminalized entheogenic drugs. That doesn’t make them legal, but it hamstrings law enforcement and prosecutors to pursue penalties against those who use them.

Luke Londo, the Hazel Park councilman who there, said he has used psychedelics for years to battle depression and anxiety.

He likened the use to that of a coffee drinker who uses the liquid to chase away mental fog or face a tough day.

Psychedelics offer “a positive lift … It reduces instances of breakthrough anxiety,” Londo told Bridge.

It that kind of testament that prompted Savit, in Washtenaw County, to instruct his prosecutors to stand down from prosecutions of psychedelic use.

“There is a lot of evidence which suggests that this can really be life changing for people,” he said.

“I’m not a researcher. I’m not a doctor,” he told Bridge. “I just read the evidence, and it really does seem to be something that has significant additional benefits, especially for those dealing with trauma, dealing with PTSD and the like.”

Not everyone on board. In 2021, council voted to say enforcement isn’t a top priority, but it stopped short of fully decriminalizing the substances.

In Lansing, State Rep. Mike McFall, D-Hazel Park, introduced in June that would the use of , the active ingredients in magic mushrooms, for the use in the treatment of PTSD.

It was immediately referred to the House Families and Veterans Committee but has not had a hearing.

How will Trump order change things? 

Against the  patchwork of Michigan laws, it can be difficult to sort through what has changed under Trump order.

In short: Not much — at least not yet.

Psychedelics under federal law, for the most part.

What does Trump executive order do?

The will accelerate research by directing $50 million in federal funds to make the drugs more accessible. It also directs the US Food and Drug Administration to fast-track reviews of drugs such as psilocybin and ibogaine, boost clinical trial participation and increase research and data-sharing.

Even the Michigan representative of the national group advocating for better access to psychedelics says such an order is limited.

It also can lead to unintended consequences, said Moudou Baqui, a Detroit-based board member of the national , a grassroots organization that advocates — as Baqui describes on the organization website — “happy, healthy humans independent of pharmaceutical companies.”

Baqui worries the executive order also will drive up demand, piquing more Big Pharma interest that, in turn, could drive up costs or create demand for unsafe, blackmarket drugs.

“It a good and bad thing,” he told Bridge, referring to the order. “You create this gold rush — both for legitimate and illegitimate actors.”

What drugs are covered and why?

Trump order refers to “psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine compounds.”

Psychedelics such as psilocybin, methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine or MDMA, ketamine and ibogaine are as potential treatments for mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and physical illnesses.

That because psychedelic drugs penetrate the central nervous system, disrupting some neural pathways, , and allowing the brain to become . In therapy, they can help a mental health professional and a patient, for example, explore traumatic experiences by allowing the patient to feel more safe.

Other drugs, such as ketamine, are also grouped alongside, since they work in similar ways.

His order begins by referencing mental health and, in particular, suicides among military veterans. (It also blames the Biden administration and the pandemic for an increase in mental health issues.)

Other benefits of psychedelics are unclear as well.

At the at the University of Michigan researchers have studied psilocybin as a treatment for fibromyalgia, for example. Earlier this month, a out of Johns Hopkins suggested it might help smokers kick the habit.

But serious psychological harm can happen with misuse of psychedelics. Fear, depression, anxiety, and paranoia can occur and be long-lasting. Deaths are rarer, but happen by suicide and accidents or with the drugs’ use alongside other substances, according to the.

A severe overdose in ketamine, which acts like a conventional psychedelic, can lead to respiratory depression, coma, convulsions, seizures, and death due to respiratory arrest, according to the drug agency.

In fact, federal studies were previously halted on Ibogaine — one of the drugs named in the executive order — after it was shown to cause and nervous system cell death, according to , which has warned against the decriminalization of the drugs.

Research will illuminate benefits and dangerous downsides, guide safe manufacturing and establish dosing information, said Khan.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a .

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.