A team of scientists have said that psychedelic drugs including LSD and magic mushrooms should be reclassified as they are believed to be less harmful than thought.

They said that these drugs should be reclassified to make it easier for scientists to test the potential benefits. Experts said that the medical research into psychedelic drugs was stopped during 1967 when they were made illegal amid widespread concern about their psychological and social harms.

Psychiatrist Dr James Rucker said that there is no evidence that these drugs are addictive. He also pointed out that there very little proof to prove that it is harmful when used in controlled settings. A host of studies have indicated that they can be used in the treatment of common psychiatric disorders.

Dr Rucker, of King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience wrote in the BMJ that researchers should study the benefits of LSD and psilocybin in the treatment of addictionfor obsessive compulsive disorder and evento alleviate the symptoms of anxiety in terminally ill patients. However, he pointed out that bigger trials are not possible because of the "practical, financial, and bureaucratic obstacles" imposed by the drugs' legal status.

"These restrictions, and the accompanying bureaucracy, mean that the cost of clinical research using psychedelics is five to 10 times that of research into less restricted drugs such as heroin - with no prospect that the benefits can be translated into wider practice," he writes.