My First Published Work: Reframing The American Psilocybin Legalization Movement For Political Success.

Published in The Public Purpose, an American University School of Public Affairs graduate student journal.

I’m thrilled to share with everybody my first published piece: “Reframing The American Psilocybin Legalization Movement For Political Success,” published in The Public Purpose in spring, 2025. The article critically examines why the modern psilocybin movement has failed to break into the political mainstream, arguing that its most viable path forward is to reframe psilocybin primarily as a healthcare and mental health reform tool instead of a religious or civil rights issue.

This publication marks the start of a broader writing agenda that connects my comparative political analyses with evidence-based research. My current comparative politics capstone, “Importing the Big Lie: Testing American Disinformation’s Impact on Canadian Electoral Trust,” examines whether American election denial narratives have diffused into Canada through media spillover, partisan cueing, and shared digital ecosystems. Part of my research was the development of what I’m terming internalized political skepticism, which refers to identity-based distrust of institutions and information that leads citizens to reward political actors who challenge the legitimacy of the system.

The study uses a most similar systems design comparing the United States and Canada, with the United Kingdom serving as a benchmark case. It incorporates Google Trends data, national survey data, bilingual media analysis, and cross-national trust indicators to test the hypothesis that American-style election distrust attempts to diffuse across borders were mitigated by Canada’s strong electoral institutions. A full breakdown of findings and implications will be published on Allred Insights in the coming months.

REFRAMING THE AMERICAN PSILOCYBIN LEGALIZATION MOVEMENT FOR POLITICAL SUCCESS

The Public Purpose Journal, Vol.XXIII, Spring 2025, pages 9-12.

By Micah Blake Allred

Abstract

Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic compound found in over a hundred varieties of psilocybe mushrooms. Commonly referred to as “magic mushrooms,” they are a variety of fungi that thrive naturally in the US (Psilocybin, 2022). The social movement to legalize psilocybin in the US has become more widely accepted over the last decade, but remains on the margins of the national discourse. Decriminalization has occurred in a patchwork of cities, districts, states, and other countries. Yet, the hope of federal legalization, decriminalization, or rescheduling remains distant. To broaden its appeal, the social movement to legalize psilocybin must reframe the issue to the public. Rather than advocating for psilocybin legalization as a social justice or religious rights issue, it should be reframed primarily as a healthcare issue. To achieve this, psilocybin legalization advocates should utilize popular publics (beneficial societal connections to favorable people, groups, and institutions) to mirror the successful medicinal cannabis legalization movement.

Introduction

The psilocybin legalization movement began in 1970 when President Richard Nixon started the “War on Drugs” by signing the Controlled Substances Act (Marlan, 2021)(Controlled Substances Act, 2022b). Nixon and traditional intellectual supporters of the CSA used strategic framing to create a common purpose for the criminalization of psilocybin. During this time, Nixon was facing fierce public backlash for his administration’s politically unpopular policies, especially the prolonged war in Vietnam (Garza, 2016). In retaliation, two leading movement actors were targeted as political threats to his administration: African Americans and the anti-war left (Garza, 2016). His administration then began a campaign of astroturfing to amplify inauthentic public hysteria against drug use. Utilizing frame bridging, his administration could discredit perceived political opponents by linking psilocybin to criminal behavior detested by the public. Nixon’s Domestic Policy Advisor John Ehrlichman confirmed this strategy, stating in a 1994 interview later published in Harper’s: “Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of Course we did” (Baum, 2016).

Framing Psilocybin Legalization as a Religious Right

The value amplification of psilocybin legalization as a religious right has been one of the most effective framing devices utilized by the wider social movement until now. The centuries-long use of psilocybin in spiritual practices by some Native American groups helped establish the religious framing that sparked a decades-long legal battle for its legalization in the US (Thorne, 2020). In 1981, Assistant Attorney General Theodore Olson issued the “Olson Memo” to the Drug Enforcement Administration that focused on the Constitution’s First Amendment Free Exercise and Establishment Clause, requiring that legislation’s primary function should neither aid nor inhibit religion and prevent excessive entanglement of church and state (Olson, 1981). While it specifically addressed the Native American churches’ usage of peyote, it had broader implications for the limited decriminalization of other mind-altering substances for spiritual practices, including psilocybin.

While religious freedom has proven beneficial for the wider legalization movement, its limitations have proven its unviability for the movement nationally. There is a lack of cultural solidarity between advocates who use hallucinogenic substances for religious purposes and advocates who support psilocybin’s wider legalization on secular grounds. Indeed, many Native Americans who use hallucinogens as part of their historical religious practices view the use of these substances outside of religion as abusive, dangerous, and a cultural appropriation of their heritage (Thorne, 2020). With the legalization of hallucinogens for religious purposes already largely decriminalized, the broader movement to legalize psilocybin now lacks a common purpose with religious freedom advocates. This lack of an effective mobilization trigger now requires the psilocybin legalization movement to lean into newer incentive structures to achieve its goals.

Framing Psilocybin Legalization as Healthcare

The recent frame amplification for the legalization of psilocybin has been based on the emerging scientific understanding of its medical benefits. Consuming psilocybin can lead to an altered perception of yourself and the world around you, often referred to as “ego death” (Marlan, 2021). Studies published by the NIH have shown psilocybin’s promise in treating tobacco and alcohol addiction, mood and anxiety disorders, providing psychiatric relief for cancer patients, and supporting end-of-life care (Griffiths & Johnson, 2017). It’s been shown to be comparatively safe to other drugs used for similar treatments, despite the medically inaccurate counter framing historically espoused by the DEA (Campbell et al., 2025). Psilocybin has been shown in recent studies to be one of the safest drugs known in the CNS class of pharmaceuticals, which primarily affects the central nervous system (Griffiths & Johnson, 2017). With controlled dosages, healthcare professionals present, and treatment environments contained, possible adverse effects can be readily managed.

According to Pew, 90% of Americans believe the country is in a mental healthcare crisis (Insel, 2023). America has the most expensive healthcare system in the world, leading many patients to advocate for cheaper, healthier, and more organic substitutes to traditional Western medicine (PGPF, 2023). The Opioid Crisis has made citizens and healthcare professionals especially desperate for alternatives to dangerous and addictive medications. America’s mental health crisis and the promising results of recent psilocybin studies have presented legalization advocates with a perceived opportunity to use frame bridging to link the social movements of healthcare reform and psilocybin legalization through a common purpose. This framing has already seen national traction: 2018 the FDA issued a breakthrough therapy designation to Compass Pathways for psilocybin research (Cheung, 2018).

The motivational framing of the movement for legalizing psilocybin as a social justice issue is necessary but strategically flawed. Because social justice framing often clashes with conservative values, it’s unlikely to persuade those who originally supported psilocybin’s criminalization as a tool to target left-wing activists. However, frame extensions that combine healthcare and social justice perspectives, such as arguing that criminalization punishes sick Americans seeking relief, can still be powerful.

The Status of Psilocybin Legalization in the United States

Medicinal cannabis is legal to varying degrees in thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia. According to the Pew Research Center, medical marijuana enjoys broad support among 88% of American adults, including 84% of Republicans (Green, 2022). This is significant because conservatives have historically opposed both cannabis and psilocybin reform (Galston & Dionne, 2013). Their gradual support for medical cannabis legalization was a product of the successful framing of its health benefits and the successful counter-framing of its grossly exaggerated health and societal risks (Campbell et al., 2025). While most states where cannabis is still illegal are Republican-controlled, the majority of these states allow for its limited legalization for medical use (Crampton & Zhang, 2022).

In 2022, Daniel Pae, a Republican representative from Oklahoma, introduced legislation to legalize psilocybin research in his state, with the intention of helping combat veterans (Oklahoma House of Representatives, 2023). It passed with bipartisan support in part because Oklahoma lawmakers were concerned about their state’s comparatively high suicide rate (Suicide mortality, 2023). Similar legislation has been introduced in other politically conservative states such as Florida, Texas, Utah, and Missouri (Crampton & Zhang, 2022). Although federal rescheduling of psilocybin may seem necessary for medical legalization, the example of cannabis—still a Schedule I drug, yet legalized in many states—shows that state-level reform is possible without it (Campbell et al., 2025).

Conclusion

With the legalization of hallucinogens for religious purposes already secured on a limited basis, the broader movement to legalize psilocybin now lacks a common cause with religious freedom advocates. Additionally, its social justice framing is politically ineffective among the social conservatives who conceived of psilocybin criminalization as a way of legally targeting groups on the political left. Thankfully, recent breakthroughs in medical research have provided the psilocybin legalization movement with a stronger argument to advocate for its legalization. Paired with America’s mental health crisis, the psilocybin legalization movement has been presented with an opportunity to link the social movements of healthcare reform and psilocybin legalization through a common purpose. To gain more excellent national support, the movement must reframe psilocybin’s criminalization as a product of government overreach that impedes a potentially safer healthcare alternative to other costly or addictive treatments, negatively impacting veterans and exacerbating the national mental health crisis.

References

Baum, D. (2016). Legalize it all. Harper’s Magazine. https://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all/

Cheung, T. (2018). Compass Pathways receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression. Compass Pathways. https://ir.compasspathways.com/News--Events-/news/newsdetails/2018/COMPASS-Pathways-receives-FDA-Breakthrough-Therapy-designation-for-psilocybin-therapy-fortreatment-resistant-depression/default.aspx

Crampton, L., & Zhang, M. (2022). How ‘magic mushrooms’ could follow in the footsteps of cannabis. Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/23/psychedelics-magic-mushrooms-cannabis-legalization-00016995

Controlled Substances Act. (2022). Drug Enforcement Administration. https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/csa

Gallston, William A. & E.J. Dionne Jr. The New Politics of Marijuana Legalization: Why Opinion is Changing. Governance Studies at Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/DionneGalston_NewPoliticsofMJLeg_Final.pdf

Garza, Frida. (2016). Nixon advisor: We created the war on drugs to ‘criminalize’ Black people and the anti-war left. Quartz. https://qz.com/645990/nixon-advisor-we-created-the-war-on-drugs-to-criminalize-black-people-and-theanti-war-left

Green, Ted V. (2022). Americans overwhelmingly say marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/11/22/americans-overwhelmingly-say-marijuanashould-be-legal-for-medical-or-recreational-use/

Griffiths, R. R., & Johnson M. W. (2017). Potential therapeutic effects of psilocybin. Neurotherapeutics, 14(3), 734–740. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5509636/

Hillary Campbell & Whitt Steineker (2024). Federal appeals court rules against doctor seeking use of mushrooms to aid terminally ill patients. The National Law Review. https://natlawreview.com/article/federal-appeals-court-rulesagainst-doctor-seeking-use-mushrooms-aide-terminal

House approves research trials on drug for PTSD. (2023). Oklahoma House of Representatives. https://www.okhouse.gov/posts/news-20230309_3 How does the U.S. healthcare system compare to other countries?

Peter G. Peterson Foundation (2023). https://www.pgpf.org/article/how-does-the-us-healthcare-system-compare-to-other-countries/

Insel, Thomas. (2023). America’s mental health crisis. Pew Trusts. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/trend/archive/fall2023/americas-mental-health-crisis

Marlan, D. (2021). The movement to decriminalize psilocybin, explained. The Appeal. https://theappeal.org/thelab/explainers/the-movement-to-decriminalize-psilocybin-explained/

Olson, T. (1981). Constitutionality of the exemption for peyote use by the Native American Church. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/olc/legacy/2014/01/29/op-olc-05.pdf

Psilocybin. Drug Enforcement Administration. (2022). https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/psilocybin

Suicide mortality. (2023). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/suicide.htm

Thorne, G. (2020). Religious use of psychedelic drugs under federal law: A history. Harris Sliwoski LLP. https://harrissliwoski.com/psychlawblog/religious-use-of-psychedelic-drugs-under-federal-law-a-history/