Report: Campaign to legalize LSD, other drugs as 'Human Right' gains traction overseas

OSLO -- A movement to legally manufacture LSD, psilocybin and MDMA in an effort to create safer drugs and legitimize their use for spiritual enhancement is gaining traction in Norway, the New York Times reports.

According to the Times, a group titled EmmaSofia, which advocates certain uses of psychedelic drugs, is becoming nationally recognized in the typically reserved country. It has even garnered unlikely supporters, such as a retired Norwegian Supreme Court judge.

EmmaSofia recently started an online campaign pushing for the legal production of LSD, psilocybin and MDMA. Pal-Orjan Johansen, the founder of EmmaSofia, says the psychoactive drugs saved and transformed his life for the positive. He claims the drugs helped him beat an alcohol problem, a smoking habit and PTSD.

"I helped myself with psychedelics and want others to have the same opportunity without the risk of arrest," Johansen told the Times.

Johansen admits legalizing the drugs will be an uphill battle in Norway, often known for its restrictive drug policies. However, he hopes to tap into a naturalist side of Norwegians' psyche, pointing to a long tradition of nature-worshiping shamans among Norway's indigenous people.

"People have used psychedelics for centuries," Ketil Lund, a 75-year-old former Norwegian Supreme Court and advocate of EmmaSofia, told the Times.

But many say that long-entrenched taboos on psychedelic drugs, often held in government, will be too great to overcome.

"LSD terrifies governments," Professor of neuropsycopharmacology at Imperial College in London told the Times. "It is their ultimate fear because it changes the way people look at the world."

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