Therapeutic value, abuse potential
Participants were asked to rate the safety, therapeutic value, and abuse potential of the four drugs as well as alcohol, a nonscheduled legal drug, if used properly or as directed.
Respondents viewed psilocybin and ketamine as similarly safe – and safer than methamphetamine and alprazolam. They considered ketamine as having the highest therapeutic potential, followed by psilocybin, and then alprazolam and methamphetamine. “Last was alcohol, which we expected because alcohol is not used therapeutically,” said Dr. Levin.
Survey completers viewed methamphetamine, alprazolam, and alcohol as having similarly high abuse potential, and ketamine as having mid-level abuse potential. Psilocybin was rated as having the lowest abuse potential, “which is exactly the opposite of what is implied by its schedule I status,” noted Dr. Levin.
The results provide evidence these drugs “are incorrectly scheduled,” he said.
“This suggests the schedule does not reflect current evidence, which I think is really important to understand because there are consequences to the drug schedule,” including criminal justice and research consequences, he added.
Dr. Levin pointed out that possession of drugs in more harmful schedules is linked to sometimes lengthy prison sentences.
The psychiatrists’ perceptions of the drugs “overlaps pretty significantly” with recent surveys of other mental health professionals, including psychologists and addiction experts, he noted.
The study was funded by the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, Moritz College of Law, and The Ohio State University. Dr. Levin reported no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.