Psychoactive supper shines a light on blanket substance ban

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Last night researchers at the University of Warwick hosted a ‘Psychoactive Supper’ to stimulate discussion about the concept of psycho-activity, central to The Psychoactive Substances Act (2016), a new piece of UK legislation that seeks to ban ‘legal highs’ by instituting a blanket ban on all psychoactive substances.

In January 2016, Parliament introduced the Psychoactive Substances Act, which plans to ban the use of all products which affect the central nervous system, except those which are explicitly exempt (i.e. prescription medication, alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine).

For the most part, this law has been portrayed as a pragmatic solution to the growing menace of synthetic cannabinoids and other ‘legal highs’ which have evaded existing drug laws.

In their haste to push through a solution to this serious problem, however, Parliament has failed to listen to a small but important group of voices opposing the ban on the basis of historical and scientific evidence, including their own advisors.

While the Act makes exceptions for substances normally consumed as food, along with traditionally and widely enjoyed psychoactive substances such as caffeine, alcohol and nicotine, the fact remains that from a psychopharmacological standpoint, many common foods activate the same pathways in the brain as illegal drugs. In that sense, where should the line be drawn between food and drugs?

The evening offered a psychoactive food menu featuring ingredients that are perfectly legal under the Psychoactive Substances Act. The dinner was curated by Crossmodal experience designers and culinary experts Daniel Ospina and Charles Michel, and showcased multisensory performances by musicians and visual artists.

The tastings were presented alongside short talks by leading experts in psychopharmacology, the neuroscience of moral behaviour, activists, politicians and opinion-makers.

Dr. Susannah Wilson project lead of Banning Pleasure: Psychoactivity and the Law at the University of Warwick said,

“This symposium aims to stimulate reflection about the scope of the concept of psychoactivity deployed in The Psychoactive Substances Act and about the widely contested approach to drug policy it embodies.”

The Supper took place on Tuesday 17 May 2016 at Carousel in Marylebone, London.

This event is an initiative of Dr. Susannah Wilson, Dr. Oliver Davis and Dr. Rebecca Powers at the University of Warwick, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

AB 18/05/20165