The Academy welcomes the publication of the guidance for researchers on the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, which exempts legitimate scientific research involving psychoactive substances.
The Psychoactive Substances Act comes into effect today on Thursday 26 May 2016. During the early stages of the Bill, the Academy, alongside the British Pharmacological Society, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Royal Society, Royal Society of Biology and the Wellcome Trust, wrote a letter to the Home Office outlining the importance of safeguarding medical research from any unintended consequences of the Bill. Since then, the Academy and the signatories to the letter have continued to engage with the Home Office around the appropriate protection of medical research activities. An exemption for ‘legitimate medical research’ was subsequently introduced to the Bill during its passage through the Commons.
Further information on the Academy’s work on the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 can be found on the policy project page.