DEA Denies Religious Exemption

How DEA Denies Religious Exemption Petitions

We’ve discussed at length the DEA’s process for seeking religious exemptions to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). You can read about that in my posts linked at the bottom of this one. Critics of the religious exemption petition process claim that the DEA rarely, if ever, responds to petitions. They also complain that they are

Exception to DEA Ketamine Registration

Exception to DEA Ketamine Registration

Ketamine is a Schedule III drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Physicians who dispense or administer it therefore must comply with a host of federal and state laws and regulations. This includes registering with the DEA at each location where the physician administers ketamine. But what about physicians who travel to a patient’s

california psychedelics update

California Psychedelics Update

I recently published a nationwide psychedelics law roundup post. But in doing so, I realized that it’s been a while since we did a comprehensive California psychedelics update. Today, I’ll walk through the two key proposed California psychedelics laws and where they stand. California’s push to decriminalize (almost) all psychedelics In 2021, California Senator Scott

u.s. immigration law psychedelics

Psychedelics and U.S. Immigration Law

The gap in the treatment of controlled substances between the state and federal levels continues to widen. That has long been true with cannabis, but the trend has accelerated with psilocybin and other psychedelics recently. This growing disparity has implications under U.S. immigration law for employers and non-residents who wish to become involved in the

psychedelics religious practices religion

Oregon Psilocybin and Religious Practices

The Oregon Psilocybin Licensing Subcommittee meeting on February 3, 2022 dove into religions that use psilocybin, and how Oregon’s Measure 109 would protect and regulate such religions and religious practices. Rather than discussing recommendations and licensing regulations, the Subcommittee allowed two guest speakers to present on religious psychedelic practices. Psychedelic Religious Practices: Pastor Bob Otis

psychedelics religious use

Religious Exemptions are Procedural Nightmares

Want to use psychedelics for religious purposes in the U.S.? The government should let you, but it’s not going to make it easy. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for religious exemptions to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) for illegal psychedelics. Since then, only a few groups have been granted such exemptions

psychedelics religions tax exemption

Can Psychedelic Religions Obtain 501(c)(3) Status?

You’ve probably heard of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), which provides certain tax exemptions for qualifying charitable organizations. You also probably know that there are many psychedelic religious groups worldwide. The question I want to answer today is “can psychedelic religions obtain 501(c)(3) status?” What is 501(c)(3) status and how do religions

psychedelics legalization state summary

State Psychedelic Law Roundup

In this post, I’ll do a brief state psychedelic law roundup. I won’t cover local (city or county) measures or all the states. Instead, I’ll summarize some of the recent action or more significant developments in states across the country. Washington State Psilocybin Law On January 6, Washington lawmakers introduced the Washington Psilocybin Services Wellness and

oregon psilocybin social equity

The Oregon Psilocybin Social Equity Bill

In late January, the Oregon state legislature filed a pre-session, psilocybin social equity bill to supplement the state’s groundbreaking Measure 109 program. That legislation is new Senate Bill 1580, sponsored by ten Democratic state lawmakers. Its first public hearing was yesterday and it goes to Senate work session tomorrow. Oregon’s New Legal Psilocybin Program This

psilocybin testing rules

Oregon Psilocybin: Draft Testing Rules

Measure 109 covered psilocybin testing standards in some detail. It also directed the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to adopt rules on this topic. I’ll cover the unreleased, first draft of those rules today. They begin at OAR 333-333-7010. As I wrote in parts one and two of this series (training; products) it’s important to remember that