Anthropology

Why are shrooms illegal?

Psilocybin [mushroom] prohibition could fade away, effectively ending the “bad trip” that is the War on Drugs – at least as it pertains to shrooms. Prohibition hasn’t stopped American psychonauts from enjoying shrooms over the last 50 years though. [However, it’s Europe in] 2008, when the Dutch government launched a crackdown on magic mushrooms. That abrupt…

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Anthropology

Government urged to sell… ecstasy [MDMA] in pharmacies

In a book – with a foreword written by the former prime minister of New Zealand Helen Clark… cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines should be “nationalised” and sold legally in government-run pharmacies to undermine global drug-related crime, a UK drugs reform charity has recommended. Only a single adult use dosage of the drugs would be available…

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Anthropology

Congress debates… magic mushrooms [and entheogens]

[Rep.] Harris proposed forbidding Washington, DC, from implementing a voter initiative to make… [certain entheogenic plants and fungi] the bottom legislation enforcement precedence. Initiative organizers say they submitted sufficient signatures to look on the November poll. “Even Harris acknowledges the irrefutable science behind a few of these psychedelics,” mentioned initiative proposer Melissa Lavasani, who says…

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Anthropology

…Decriminalize Nature Portland announces…

In their press release, Decriminalize Nature Portland fleshed out their motivations and intentions “Oregon is in the middle of a peak in its mental health and homelessness rates,” said Decriminalize Nature Portland organizer Holly Sullivan. “And the last thing we need to be doing is locking up more of our most vulnerable folks for the possession…

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Anthropology

Denver abiding by mushroom decriminalization rules…

“I will confirm that we respect the voter’s decision and are abiding by the initiative in both the letter and the spirit,” says Carolyn Tyler, a spokesperson for the office of Denver District Attorney Beth McCann, who adds that McCann has been doing her best to educate herself about psychedelic mushrooms since the initiative’s passage. Kevin…

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Anthropology

…view – voters should vote down Measure 109

We hope… that we see a similar measure on the ballot in a few years, but for now, we recommend a “no” vote on Measure 109. Oregon voters are being asked to decide whether or not to legalize psilocybin… with very specific rules, restrictions… Original Article (East Oregonian):Our view voters should vote down measure 109Artwork…

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Anthropology

The psychedelic renaissance: discovery… [as] appropriation?

When colonization of the Americas began in 1492, so did the commodification of plants like tobacco, cacao and coca by moneyed interests. Once regarded and used as sacred medicines, these substances were at first feared, then eventually watered down, processed and commodified for European markets, losing their cultural and medicinal value in the process… these [so-called new] discoveries [in psychedelics] are…

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Anthropology

How stigma created Japan’s hidden drug problem

In Japan, public shaming and stigma of those suspected of taking drugs has developed into a useful tool for the authorities to remind citizens of the country’s strict moral code on drug use: If you get high you are not just letting yourself down, you are also letting society down. “While Japanese society has changed…

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Anthropology

Power… responsibility… psychedelic

For centuries, psychedelic substances have been used by Indigenous communities for community… purposes that continue in the present day. In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act… When colonizers reached the North and South American continents, they demonized the use of plant medicines. “The strategy and tactics of European colonizers … was based…

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