Fear and Loathing in the United Nations: The Establishment of International Control of Psychedelics Through the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances
Contemporary Drug Problems March 7, 2026 Måns Bergkvist, Damon Barrett, Johan Edman et al. 1 citation
Psychedelics were included under the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances—a key international drug control treaty—due to sensationalized media coverage and Cold War politics, not strong scientific evidence of public health dangers. Concerns about dependency and youth counterculture were amplified, while tobacco, alcohol, sedatives, and stimulants faced less restriction due to cultural and economic advocacy. The United States helped preserve allowances for psychedelic research and plant use, countering stricter proposals from France and the USSR. The article shows how ideological, cultural, political, and institutional factors, rather than evidence alone, shaped international drug policy.