The agency is proposing to classify 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetamine as Schedule 1 substances.
Photo source: DEA Facebook page
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said it will convene a hearing this summer on its proposal to add two unscheduled “phenethylamine hallucinogens” to its list of Schedule 1 substances.
Scheduled for 9 a.m. ET on June 10 at the DEA Hearing Facility in Arlington, Virginia, the hearing will discuss the agency’s proposal to classify 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetamine (DOC) as Schedule 1 drugs.
Under the Controlled Substances Act, Schedule 1 substances are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
The DEA published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Dec. 13 Federal Register. During the public-comment period, the agency received 151 comments, most of them in vehement opposition to the proposed rule.
“As a neuroscientist, these substances are fundamental for my work in research on the serotonin 5HT2a receptor,” asserts one commenter, who identifies herself as Almudena Robledo. “The research that I conduct helps not only understand how these receptors work and their functions in the nervous, cardiovascular and digestive systems (where they are found) but also advances our understanding of mental-health pathology and gives us insight into possible treatments. These substances play a unique role in our experiments and there are no equally useful analogues. By re-scheduling these substances, this work will be forced to stop and made much more cumbersome hindering our scientific progress. The work we do is beneficial for public health and humanity. Please reconsider this proposal so as to aid scientific progress.”
One anonymous commenter puts it more bluntly: “Effectively no one uses these extremely long-lasting psychedelics recreationally, so stop wasting your time and focus on real problems like the opioid epidemic!”
After publishing the notice of proposed rulemaking in December, the DEA says it has received three requests for a public hearing to discuss the proposed rule.