21 April 2023
Controlled Substances
An Original Poem for the MAPS Bulletin
By Dennis Walker
MAPS Bulletin: Volume XXXIII Number 1 • 2023
Cough suppressants are schedule 5;
They have a lower potential for abuse
The difference between them and Schedule 1
Is that they have a known medical use
Schedule 4 includes Xanax, Ambien, and Soma;
Drugs classified as having
A lower risk of dependence
Or putting you in a coma
Schedule 3 fills a few more voids;
It includes products with 90 mg or less
Of codeine, ketamine, and anabolic steroids
Schedule 2 is defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse
Cocaine and methamphetamine,
Which both have recognized medical use
Schedule 1 is the most baffling of all;
LSD and mushrooms classification there
Is an injustice to us all
MDMA is currently on there too;
But thanks to the latest MAPS-sponsored Phase 3 trials
We’re close to a medicalized use breakthrough
Cannabis is also included on this highest tier
But where are liquor, wine, and beer?
It’s a logical fallacy to criminalize an herb federally
While in 21 states you can legally purchase it in every suburb
Thousands of years of human use cases
And we’re still locking people up for it, and testing for traces
It’s a wonder to me that the difference between legal drugs and
felonious substances is usually only a molecule or 2;
If you get it from a doctor, you’ll get a similar effect but won’t
have the authorities chasing you
Perhaps I should tell my friend who just quit drinking
That the mushrooms which helped him are against the medical
establishment’s way of thinking
And the inclusion of peyote with few exemptions or immunity
Is a slap in the face to the indigenous community
If you ask me, It’s time to do away with the schedule as a whole;
And put drugs under the people’s control
If you ask me, It’s time to do away with the schedule as a whole;
And put drugs under the people’s control
If we trade punitive approaches for education and support;
The governed and the government will have a much
better rapport
No more locking people in cages
For doing what humans have done throughout the ages
An illegal plant is a ridiculous notion;
It’s like criminalizing the sky and the ocean
And by the same virtue it’s my belief
That psychedelic exceptionalism causes further grief
Things can change, and they always do
The Controlled Substances Act elimination is overdue
Better late than never, so let’s do it today
End the drug war and keep it that way
Dennis Walker
Dennis Walker is a satirist and multimedia journalist best known for his work with Mycopreneur, a podcast and media platform dedicated to platforming mushroom entrepreneurs. In 100 episodes of the Mycopreneur Podcast, Dennis has featured myco entrepreneurs from 25 countries and 6 continents. Along this journey, he has expanded the scope of Mycopreneur to include drug policy reform advocacy and international diplomacy efforts. He and his wife live in Chiapas, Mexico with their rescue pup Rupert Murdog.
