Psychedelic Law

The topic of legalizing psychedelic substances is one that is garnering nationwide attention. Oregon led the charge for the legalization of psilocybin when voters approved a ballot measure that helped create the framework for physicians to administer the drug in a medical setting. Since then, Colorado, California, Connecticut, Washington, Texas, Colorado and more states have either proposed or passed their own laws pushing for psychedelic reform.

In January 2021, Rep. Mike Greico introduced a bill, H.B. 549, that would have legalized psilocybin-assisted therapy in Florida. The bill was drafted in part by Fort Lauderdale lawyer and founder of Mr. Psychedelic Law, Dustin Robinson, Esq., who modeled the legislation after the Oregon ballot measure. Ultimately, H.B. 549 was killed in committee, but Robinson said it “got the conversation started.”

Robinson founded Mr. Psychedelic Law in 2019 to promote the legal reform of psychedelics on the local, state and federal levels. Robinson admits that he didn’t really expect the ambitious bill he helped draft would be passed, but that the “strategy was to ask for everything up front and then kind of tailor it back in future bills.” After H.B. 549, two more bills concerning psychedelics were introduced to the Florida House and Senate, respectively. H.B. 193 and S.B. 348 would have directed the Florida Department of Health and the Board of Medicine to study the therapeutic applications of MDMA, psilocybin and ketamine in treating mood disorders. Both died in subcommittees.

For Robinson, the case for legalizing psychedelics is clear. “We’re in a global mental health crisis; over a billion people are suffering,” he says. “We don’t have time to wait.” His organization is currently working on another bill that he hopes to have filed by the next legislative session.

The new bill focuses on preparing Florida for the eventual approval of MDMA and psilocybin by the FDA, rather than legalizing or decriminalizing substances. If passed, the bill would give the attorney general a window of time to reschedule a drug that has been reclassified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). If the attorney general doesn’t act within that window, the drug will be automatically nomenon, there was a way to criminalize the substances which, in part, helped fuel the movement.

“Florida has a lot of veterans that are suffering from PTSD, so Florida is a state that could very much benefit from this approval,” says Robinson. “Our goal is to make sure that veterans and others suffering with PTSD have access to this medicine as soon as possible once it’s approved.

The War on Drugs began in earnest in 1971, when President Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act into law. Under this new federal drug policy, nearly every psychedelic compound was declared as having no medical value and a high potential for abuse under the Schedule I designation. Now, mental health advocates across multiple fields including business, law and medicine are advocating for a change in how these drugs are classified and for their use in combating mental health crises.

The Boca Psychonaut

Boca Raton-based entrepreneur, filmmaker and futurist Zappy Zapolin found out firsthand the benefits of psychedelics, and has since become one of their most vocal advocates. Dubbed the “Psychedelic Concierge to the Stars,” Zapolin has produced and directed two documentaries on the subject, including the upcoming “Lamar Odom Reborn,” wherein Zapolin delivers the basketball star a “psychedelic intervention” that helps pull Odom out of a years-long struggle with addiction and mental illness. Prior to his current psychonautic status, Zapolin earned hundreds of millions of dollars during the dot-com boom of the late ‘90s by selling domains such as music.com and beer.com, but in 2010 experienced what he refers to as a “spiritual midlife crisis.”

“I had done everything society had told me to do to be fulfilled,” says Zapolin, but the promise of fulfillment never came to fruition. Having had positive experiences with psychedelics in the past, he decided to try them with a new intent to expand his consciousness and “look deep” within himself. After taking part in a traditional South American ayahuasca ceremony, he developed a renewed sense of peace and purpose and now hopes to help others achieve the same. “Real people are having real issues in their family,” Zapolin says. “It doesn’t matter how much money you have or who you are, your family can get hit with depression, PTSD or addiction, and you have to solve that.” The solution, Zapolin says, can be found in psychedelic medicine.

Zapolin is currently the Chief Visionary Officer of Psycheceutical, a company that aims to integrate psychedelics with traditional medicine. By educating the public, Zapolin hopes to remove the stigma surrounding psychedelics so that they can be adopted by doctors as a treatment alternative to antidepressants and other medications for mood disorders. “These [psychedelics] are more effective than the traditional medicines we have, but they don’t have the side effects,” says Zapolin, who believes that “if there’s anything that could instantly enhance your life, it’s psychedelics.”

Beyond the therapeutic appeal of psychedelics, Zapolin also believes in the potential of the growing psychedelic economy. “We’re in the early innings of the psychedelic medicine industry, which I’m predicting is going to be over a trillion-dollar industry,” says Zapolin. While this may seem like a stretch, Zapolin believes his prediction will become a reality when psychedelics become the dominant form of mental health treatment. But such a monumental paradigm shift in mental health hinges on whether these substances are legalized for medicinal use.

Bypassing Bureaucracy

For some, legalizing psychedelic substances for medical purposes (see sidebar) can’t come soon enough.

Nicholas Levich is the co-founder of Psychedelic Passage, a service that links psychedelic-curious clients with experienced facilitators who “trip sit” their psychedelic experience. “There’s a lot of people out there that aren’t able or willing to wait for the legislation to change, and they need help now and there’s very few other routes to get professional support,” says Levich. Trip sitting entails watching over and guiding an individual who is under the influence of a psychedelic drug. The caveat for the Psychedelic Passage service is that clients must provide their own substances, which is how the company is able to operate within the confines of the law.

To date, Psychedelic Passage has linked more than 300 “journeyers” with facilitators in its network, all of whom undergo a rigorous vetting process before being approved as guides, which includes background and education checks, multiple interviews, past client reference checks, and internal requirements such as having prior personal experience with psychedelic compounds. As there is currently no certification for those practicing psychedelic treatment, this screening process is imperative. Clients also must undergo a vetting process to see if they are fit for the experience. “It’s definitely not for everyone,” says Levich, and that those suffering from certain mental or physical conditions such as schizophrenia or heart issues are prone to adverse effects when experimenting with psychedelics.

Levich himself feels he has benefited greatly from the use of psychedelics. From overcoming childhood and family challenges and learning self-love to developing a sense of self-confidence, Levich attributes changes in nearly every aspect of his life to experiences he’s had with psychedelics. For Levich, the argument for allowing others the same opportunity is simple; “I believe it’s a fundamental human right to be able to explore your own consciousness.”

While exploring his own consciousness didn’t “cure” Ross, it helped him to break the cycle of his negative thought patterns. The shift in perception he experienced with ketamine left him with valuable insights that he continues to try and incorporate into his everyday life. “It [ketamine] helps you look at certain events in your life from a different perspective,” says Ross, “and for me I found that to be very useful to heal and move on and grow from certain life events that previously I had found myself stuck in.”