You Won’t Believe Which Middle East Theocracy Takes an Enlightened Line on Entheogens and Psychedelics! | Alternet
▻https://www.alternet.org/drugs/believe-middle-east-theocracy-enlightened-entheogens-psychedelics-iran
In a move barely noticed in the West, more than three years ago, Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Rohani issued a formal legal ruling—a fatwa—declaring that the use of entheogens and psychedelics was permissible (ḥalāl) for Shi’i Muslims for purposes of treatment and spiritual growth.
Grand Ayatollah Rohani’s fatwa specified that such use should be undertaken under the direction and supervision of qualified experts, but it did not specify which psychoactive substances were meant to be included. The fatwa, however, was delivered after long discussions with petitioners about the effects of DMT, ayahuasca, haoma (or soma), LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, ibogaine, and marijuana.
Whatever the precise theological reasoning behind the Rohani’s fatwa, with it, Iran could leapfrog Western nations when it comes to psychedelic research. Although psychedelics are seeing a research renaissance in the West, research here is limited by their criminalized legal status, as well as lack of funding. But the Islamic Republic has cleared the way.