Editorial: On the Legality of Natural Psychoactive Substances

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines psychoactive drugs as ‘substances that when taken in or administered into one's system, affect mental processes e.g. perception, consciousness, cognition or mood and emotions’. These drugs are disaggregated into permitted (alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, marijuana, pain medicines) and prohibited substances such as heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), cocaine, and amphetamines based on potency as well as disabling and addiction potential. The scope is quite wide and legality depends on socio-cultural, religious and economic dynamics within the jurisdiction of interest.