With a Right to Try statute on the books in Arizona since 2014 and a federal statute enacted in 2018, Arizona Attorney invited Gary Smith to write an article explaining psilocybin’s medical benefits and why Arizona’s Attorney General joined several states in appealing a Drug Enforcement Administration decision to deny terminally ill patients permission to use it.
Outlining how Right to Try allows patients and their doctors to sidestep regulations and avoid felony charges and how they qualify, Gary traces the historical and spiritual significance of psilocybin, as well as its medicinal properties with minimal adverse effects. While it doesn’t cure the patient, psilocybin’s ability to lift depression and open neural pathways relieves the fear of death and gives patients greater dignity. Arizona, along with eight fellow amici, argued that the DEA has no business interfering with personal medical decisions by refusing to grant permission to use it — especially in “Hail Mary” scenarios that meet all Right to Try qualifications.
A member of the Psychedelics Bar Association’s Legalization and Regulation Committee, Gary is a leading proponent of legalizing psychedelic experimentation for the terminally ill. He is general counsel to the nation’s oldest multi-racial peyote church and has acted as a legal consultant in numerous cases. He also authored Psychedelica Lex, the preeminent legal manual for individuals and groups interested in psychedelics and enthogens.