Unofficial psychedelic-assisted therapy in Slovenian legal framework

Unofficial psychedelic-assisted therapy and shamanic rituals are on the rise, prompting various legal issues. Thus, a socio-legal study addressing a gap in the literature and legal regulation is necessary to identify the legal and factual problems related to the current legal framework. Psychedelics are prohibited as Schedule I drugs under the UN legal framework and current legal frameworks in most countries have a one-size-fits-all approach to all illicit drugs. However, substances like LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and DMT do not cause wide social disruptions like chemical addiction or death due to overdose. They are used in specific contexts, often to achieve mental wellbeing and spiritual growth. Nevertheless, these powerful substances also entail serious risks to the users’ mental and psychical health that ought not to be underestimated. The therapeutic potential of psychedelics for the treatment of depression, addiction, and other disorders is much discussed in media, motivating many to experiment with psychedelics in non-medical settings. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reports signs of increased harm associated with psychedelics and stresses the growing importance of improvements to the monitoring capabilities. Monitoring capabilities are also severely limited in Slovenia, as both the monitoring institutions and academic research mostly do not research psychedelics. Thus, the particularities of use and risks associated with psychedelics must be taken into account if efficient regimes of legal responsibility, protection of users, prevention, facilitation of scientific research, and availability of balanced information are to be established. The project will evaluate if the current regulation of psychedelic substances in Slovenia takes into account the particularities of therapeutic and ritualistic use of psychedelics and adequately responds to the related risks and harms. Perceptions and attitudes of the stakeholders are important for illuminating the legal framework and its potential shortcomings; therefore, empirical socio-legal research into stakeholders’ perceptions of the legal system and strategies for bypassing it is an important component of the overall evaluation of the existing regulatory approach. This project will analyse the existing legislation (de iure aspect) and the context on the ground (de facto aspect). We will examine which regulatory approaches to illicit drugs in general and psychedelic substances in particular promise the greatest reduction of harm, establish clear legal responsibilities, and ensure maximum safety of the population. The absence of adequate regulation of psychotherapy in Slovenia and its implications for unofficial psychedelic-assisted therapy will also be considered. The research team will (i) map the prevalence of unofficial psychedelic-assisted therapy and shamanic rituals in Slovenia and assess their legal implications; (ii) analyse the current legal framework governing psychedelics in Slovenia and identify the risks and benefits of considering different regulatory approaches; (iii) carry out a comparative legal analysis of the consequences of different models of regulation of illicit substances; (iv) carry out empirical socio-legal analysis (interviews and surveys) of the attitudes of different groups of stakeholders towards the regulation of psychedelics; (v) identify the weak points of monitoring capacities of psychedelics in Slovenia; (vi) facilitate an open science-based dialog on therapeutic use, misuse, and regulation of psychedelics involving various stakeholders. Specific focus on legal regulation of psychedelic substances is of urgent importance in the current climate where the hype about the therapeutic potential of psychedelics is prompting revaluations of current normative regimes, the classification of psychedelics within them, and the increasing interest of the general public in psychedelic substances.