Illegal Drugs Laws: Clearing a 50-Year-Old Obstacle to Research
PLoS Biology – January 27, 2015
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
United Nations drug control conventions from 1960 and 1971 pose the greatest obstacle to medical research, severely impeding neuroscience progress. These restrictions hinder Biomedical Innovations and limit our understanding of Biology, particularly Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior. Clearing this path requires revising the conventions to foster Psychedelics and Drug Studies and Human Enhancement ethically. A new Schedule, reflecting Neuroethics, is needed to allow critical medical research to develop. Local changes, like the UK moving cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2, are vital.
Abstract
The United Nations drug control conventions of 1960 and 1971 and later additions have inadvertently resulted in perhaps the greatest restrictions of medical and life sciences research. These conventions now need to be revised to allow neuroscience to progress unimpeded and to assist in the innovation of treatments for brain disorders. In the meantime, local changes, such as the United Kingdom moving cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2, should be implemented to allow medical research to develop appropriately.