| For Immediate Release June 22, 2023 | Media Contact: Bob Driscoll [email protected] |
Policy Experts Warn Veterans, Others Being Exploited to Create Legal Psychedelics Market
Aaron Rodgers Promoting Psychedelics Demonstrates Stunning Ignorance
(WASHINGTON, DC) – The Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) issued the following statement today in reaction to New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, former Texas Governor and Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and other celebrities promoting the legalization of psychedelic drugs at a conference in Colorado this week:
“The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is well-known for their advocacy to legalize drugs, and now with psychedelics they are following the playbook which has legalized marijuana (THC) in more than two dozen states. This event is intended to reduce perceptions of risk from dangerous drugs by calling them medicine, despite neither FDA nor American Psychiatric Association approval.
“Research into these drugs are warranted, but we should follow the same standards we would for any other medication. The psychedelic industry is largely exploiting vulnerable groups like our veterans to ultimately create a commercial marketplace. They used so-called medical marijuana as a springboard to full legalization and commercialization, and we have serious concern this exploitation is happening again with psychedelics. Subverting the law and legal approval process with this ruse is callous, dishonest and dangerous.
“Aaron Rodgers was widely criticized for misleading the public about the COVID-19 vaccine. Now, he’s promoting the use of a drug that is federally illegal and has demonstrated as much as a staggering 40 percent adverse event rate in trials. We should not look to him as a credible voice on matters of public health or drug policy. Aaron Rodgers is being used as a pawn by the psychedelic industry.
“We should hope that Secretary Perry isn’t looking to follow in the footsteps of former House Speaker John Boehner, who made millions advocating for THC-laced products to be sold in communities across America despite scientific evidence of the harm they can cause. The Secretary should know that messaging psychedelics as medicine can ultimately create an industry looking to make profits at the expense of more users. As with marijuana, the expansion of use of psychedelics will exacerbate the nation’s mental health crisis.
“Addiction-for-profit industries have a proven track record of placing profits ahead of public health and safety. Psychedelics, including mushrooms, ecstasy, LSD and other drugs, aren’t medicine and can severely damage the human brain, leading to accidents and suicide. As we’ve seen with THC (marijuana) legalization, reframing a drug as medicine and exploiting those suffering from a range of conditions has been used to justify the establishment of massive commercial marketplaces, which have increased addiction rates to levels never before seen. More dangerous drugs making investors a fortune at the expense of Americans’ health is the last thing our country needs right now.”