The impact of drug control on wider research: Psychedelic mushroom exploration
Drug Science Policy and Law January 1, 2026 Sam Lasham, Rhys Ponton 1 citation
Drug control laws introduced since the early twentieth century reduce non-medical use and drug-associated harm but unjustly impact medical care and research. Restrictions on controlled drugs and prohibited plants in New Zealand, such as those under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, have limited clinical research on substances like MDMA, LSD, psilocybin, and DMT for decades. Beyond clinical applications, these legal restrictions also severely inhibit non-clinical research, as illustrated by the Act's impedance of research on mushroom-forming fungi in New Zealand.