On an international level, psychedelics remain in the most restrictive category of the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Drugs.
The convention has allowed for the establishment of different drug policies among European countries, with more permissive ones found in places like the Netherlands and Portugal.
Members of the European Parliament have stated concern about the lack of European progress as a whole compared to the U.S., Canada and Australia and have asked the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to play a “more active role” and work with the European drugs agency, EMCDDA.
MEP and one of the letter’s signatories, Sara Cerdas told POLITICO that while there’s “clearly a momentum” for psychedelics, the biggest challenge in both research and treatment is that the EMA regulates substances but not therapy.
In fact, the agency does not approve medicines but rather makes recommendations. The final call rests with the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, which sets proposals for the 700 European Parliament members to vote on. If favored, each EU member state must make national laws compliant with the new regulations.
A further revision …
