A Delays Hearing on Psychedelic Compounds

DEA Administrative Law Judge Paul Soeffing granted the stay, citing the ongoing judicial review and potential constitutional issues with the administrative proceedings as justification for the decision. The order will halt the hearing until a federal court decision is reached on the matter. In the meantime, DEA and Panacea Plant Sciences are required to submit joint status reports every 60 days.

This development is part of a broader dispute over DEA’s efforts to control these substances under the Controlled Substances Act. Despite previous attempts in 2022 to classify these psychedelics as Schedule I drugs—indicating a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use—these efforts were withdrawn after pushback from the scientific community due to a lack of evidence linking these compounds to serious health risks or high abuse potential.

Concurrently, discussions on cannabis reclassification are also progressing, with DEA indicating a potential move to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, acknowledging changing public sentiment and the need for updated regulatory approaches. This shift in cannabis policy has garnered mixed reactions from political leaders, reflecting the ongoing debate over national drug policy reform