‘Minimum standards’ being sought for ‘magic’ mushroom industry
Published:Tuesday | March 5, 2024 | 12:11 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
CHAIR OF the Jamaica Psilocybin Technical Committee, Senator Dr Saphire Longmore, has disclosed that the group is far advanced in its advocacy for the standardisation of the psilocybin ‘magic’ mushroom industry.
“With the growth of this industry, we as operators recognise the need for an established standard of operations, paramount in purpose being the safe availability of this product to those it may benefit,” she said.
The committee was established in 2023, and consists of stakeholders in the sector.
“Essentially, we want to have a minimum operating standard, a minimum clinical application, a minimum availability over the counter, as the case may be,” she added.
The psilocybin mushroom is a nutraceutical that is consumed for its hallucinogenic effects, causing a person to see or hear things that do not exist or are distorted.
But Longmore, who is a psychiatrist, noted the many health benefits to be gained from its use. She shared that the psilocybin mushroom has been researched and demonstrated to show significant effectiveness in the treatment of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidality, substance abuse, especially alcohol, and certain autoimmune diseases, palliative and cancer care, among others. And that this category of mushrooms has also been used in cultures worldwide in sacramental practices and spiritual healthcare.
Sharing that its use in Jamaica has evolved over the years by both local and tourists, Longmore also notes that a standard needs to be established regarding who can administer the nutraceutical.
“You must be experienced to a minimum level to be able to offer this to persons. Just like how we want to have a standard for the minimum safety and environment for its growth, the processing, the availability to persons, likewise a minimum standard for the persons who are propagating this type of sacramental and/or other health benefits,” she said.
The mushrooms are illegal in Canada while some states like Oregon in the United States have legalised its usage. Currently there are no regulations in Jamaica governing its ultilisation.
As a result, Longmore said the industry has been “mushrooming” without any checks and balances.
“And so you have persons that are indulgent in it, in ways that might not be responsible, you have foreigners who are coming in, capitalising on it, and we within the space have to see to the safety of it,” she said.
In a recent Gleaner article, Executive Director of the National Council on Drug Abuse, Michael Tucker, recommended the amendment of the Dangerous Drugs Act to include the magic mushrooms.
While he acknowledged that there are individuals who use it successfully for therapeutic reasons, he noted that there are others who will abuse it, and amending the law will help to weed out the latter.
But underscoring the need for standardised, safe and responsible availability of the psychedelic with “particular caution to our youth”, Longmore expressed concern about the inaccurate propagation of information about the product.
“We are significantly concerned with the expressions of erroneous information that can be outrightly dangerous, being publicly presented by sources seemingly inadequately informed and/or inexperienced in the use of this product, while seeking to project an understanding that is unsubstantiated,” she said, while acknowledging that Jamaicans generally have a negative perception of the product.
As such, she said the committee will also be taking on the responsibility to sensitise the public.
“We are committed to the effort of ensuring accurate public education, thus enabling the best understanding of this natural product, a product that has tremendous potential to positively transform lives and contribute to our economy individually and collectively,” she said, arguing that Jamaica is in a unique position to benefit from the formalisation of the industry.
“We are the leaders in it, the rest of the world is actually looking at what Jamaica is doing. You have strains of mushrooms in Jamaica that are not available elsewhere in the world. We also have treatment facilities that are available in Jamaica, that are not available elsewhere in the world,” she said.
She pointed to research being conducted at The University of the West Indies into developing the molecular structure of it, and emphasised the benefits to the tourism industry.
“That is one of the main reasons persons gravitate towards Jamaica, the sacramental use of the psilocybin mushroom which has been proven to be significantly beneficial for one’s health,” she said.“We have to find a balance that allows for the industry to happen, but to ensure that the safety mechanisms that need to be there are there.”