Addiction Profiteers Suffer Setback In Quest to Bring More Drugs Into Illinois’ Communities
(SPRINGFIELD, IL) – Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, released the following statement today in response to the defeat of the Illinois CURE Act (SB3695), which will not advance during the current session:
“First medical marijuana was the wonder drug that would cure every ailment and reduce addiction. Now it’s psilocybin mushrooms. What State Rep. La Shawn Ford and State Senator Rachel Ventura won’t tell the public is that the movement to commercialize psychedelics isn’t about providing anyone with safe and effective care. It’s about creating another addiction-for-profit industry that will pump communities full of even more dangerous drugs. We have no issue with FDA-approved medications, but that is the process medicines should go through—not the legislature.
“People need to understand that research purporting the benefits of these psychoactive drugs is incomplete and paints a mixed picture at best. Many of the so-called ‘studies’ rely on patients who have already experimented with psychedelics, creating an obvious confirmation bias, and several big studies have demonstrated that the placebo faired just as well as the drugs.
“Thankfully, it appears Illinois’ leaders are rightly taking a step back and exercising caution. That’s good news for the people of Illinois, especially those suffering from addiction and mental health disorders.”