DEA Wants More Psychedelics for Research Purposes

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last week proposed increasing its 2024 production quotas for research-grade psychedelic compounds including psilocybin, psilocin, and ibogaine, according to a Lucid News report.

The revised production agenda, posted in a notice to the Federal Reserve, calls for increasing production of from 20,000 to 30,000 grams of psilocybin and from 24,000 to 36,000 grams of psilocin, a 50% overall increase. The numbers also represent DEA’s new production quotas for those substances for 2025.

The agency also called for increasing ibogaine production in 2025 from 150 to 210 grams but did not call for increasing the production of MDMA or DMT, the report said.

The agency said the increased production rates are necessary to drive and support new research into the effects and potential applications of psychedelic substances, many of which are Schedule I substances under federal law.

“These proposed increases are to support research and clinical trials by DEA-registered schedule I researchers. These proposed increases demonstrate DEA’s support for research with schedule I controlled substances. The proposed increases reflect research and development needs as part of the process for seeking the FDA approval of new drug products.”  — Excerpt from the DEA notice

Previously DEA announced massive boosts to its psychedelics production rates in 2022 in preparation for a significant research push. The agency has also proposed decreasing next year’s production rates of fentanyl, hydrocodone (for sale), hydromorphone, and oxycodone (for sale).

Additionally, the FDA recently awarded “breakthrough therapy” designations to both psilocybin and MDMA — although the agency later highlighted concerns about the initial investigations into MDMA as a potential treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).