In my first post, I discussed the Controlled Substances Act and the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (current statutory and regulatory mechanisms), and the process for changing the schedule of a drug. Listed below are the current government institutions relevant to the discussion of hallucinogen research.
The executive branch of the government includes most of the institutions relevant to this topic and includes the following:
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (Executive Office of the President; responsible for establishing policies, objectives, priorities, and performance measurements for the National Drug Control Program).
United States Department of Justice, which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration (enforces the United States’ controlled substance laws and regulations and aims to reduce the supply of and demand for such substances).
The Department of Health and Human Services (protects the health of all Americans and provides essential human services) and is the parent agency to all of the following:
The National Institutes of Health [NIH] (the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research).The NIH includes: The National Institute of Mental Health (conducts and supports research that seeks to understand, treat, and prevent mental illness) & The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (works to improve substance abuse and mental health treatment services).
The Food and Drug Administration (responsible for protecting public health regarding drugs, medical devices, food, and cosmetics).
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (supports research to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care).
Currently, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies [MAPS], is the major private organization spearheading research and education on psychedelics. It was founded in 1986 as a non-profit organization by Rick Doblin, P.h.D. His 2019 TedTalk is featured on this blog.
I also mentioned in my first post that Dr. Timothy Leary and Dr. Richard Alpert were major actors early in psilocybin research at Harvard University in the ’60s. However, even before the dismissal of their project and work, the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] had already been experimenting with the use of a different hallucinogen, LSD. The CIA Project MK-Ultra (1953) supported LSD research at around 80 institutions such as colleges, universities, hospitals, prisons, and pharmaceutical companies (Horrock, 1977). The CIA, a government agency, was responsible for introducing LSD into America (Stratton, 2017). The pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly and Richard Pioch patented an analog of LSD in the 1950s (Pioch & Lilly Co, 1961). This history is relevant because it may impact current government officials and how they view the government’s role in this research.
References
Barth, C.B. & Ferriero, D.S. (2013, July, 1). The United States Government Manual. Office of the Federal Register. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved from https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVMAN-2013-11-06/pdf/GOVMAN-2013-11-06.pdf
Horrock, N. M. (1977, August 4). 80 Institutions used in C.I.A. mind studies. The New York Times, 36. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP99-00498R000100110072-2.pdf
Pioch, R.P. & Lilly Co., Eli. (1961). U.S. Patent No. 2997470A. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Stratton, R. (2017, June 16). MK-Ultra [Television series episode]. In A&E Television Networks (Producer), MK-Ultra. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/history-of-mk-ultra
Underutilization of Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders 
Thank you for highlighting all of the key players that are relevant to your topic. After reading your blogs, I have a better understanding of the history of psychedelics in the US. With the current limits on psychedelic drug research due to its classification as schedule 1 drugs, the future of psychedelic drug use in mental health seems grim. However, understanding the important institutions and actors relevant to this topic is a good start to trying to identify steps for change. The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies’ (MAPS) mission is to develop “medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana” (MAPS, 2020). They want to research safe and careful use of these substances and provide information about the risks and benefits of these substances (MAPS, 2020). Although they may find that the substances are beneficial for certain mental disorders, if they remain schedule 1 drugs, their use will still be illegal. Therefore, more stakeholders, including the organizations you mentioned in your blog, will need to be educated and get on board in order to make policy changes. I look forward to reading more about your topic and your blogs to see what steps can be taken next.
Reference
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. (2020). Mission. Retrieved from https://maps.org/about/mission
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