“Don’t Kill My Buzz, Man!” – Explaining the Criminalization of Psychedelic Drugs

Summary

Psychedelic drugs were initially researched in the 1950s and found to be non-addictive with potential therapeutic benefits. However, their possession was criminalized in 1968, leading to harsher penalties than for more dangerous drugs like methamphetamine. While many attribute this criminalization to a moral panic, it is argued that earlier anti-drug sentiments and professional biases against psychedelics played significant roles in this process.

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Abstract

In the 1950s, psychedelic drugs were the subject of extensive psychiatric research in the United States. By 1960, they had been found to be non-addictive, to have remarkable safety profiles, and to potentially be able to treat a range of psychological conditions. However, in 1968, the possession of psychedelics was criminalized by the US federal government. Consequently, medical research has been stifled, and today the possession and distribution of psychedelics are punished more severely than for more dangerous recreational drugs such as methamphetamine. Most scholars argue that psychedelics were criminalized due to a “moral panic” in the late 1960s. However, this theory overlooks several important aspects of the political process that led to psychedelic criminalization. This essay takes an alternative stance. First, early 20th century temperance advocates instilled an anti-drug moral framework into the American cultural consciousness. Then, in the early 1960s, safety concerns and professional biases led most mainstream psychiatrists to reject the therapeutic use of psychedelics. These factors interacted to cause both a moral panic and severe criminalization, but the moral panic did not itself cause criminalization.

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