Politics

…store selling psilocybin mushrooms vows to reopen after police raid

A downtown Kelowna store that’s been selling psilocybin mushrooms was raided by police on Friday, but the owners vow to reopen soon. Essence Wellness… stating they’ll be reopening “in the next coming days.” Storefronts selling psilocybin products have been recently popping up in Vancouver, where they’re following the example set by the “grey market” cannabis…

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Politics

…groundbreaking…

The psychedelic gold rush raises a range of challenging questions around the commercialisation and availability of psychedelics and the risk of corporate capture… [therefore]… …a four-tiered regulation model “that attempts to manage the variety of psychedelic preparations and the different ways in which they are used”. These include: 1) Private use, home cultivation, foraging and not-for-profit…

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Politics

…[Oregon] Measure 110…

If voters are faced with another ballot measure, Brian Renauer, chair of the Criminology and Criminal Justice at Portland State University (PSU), said they should consider the “most important component of Measure 110 is the increasing of resources for treatment opportunities for those suffering from substance use disorders that didn’t exist during the War on…

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Politics

Massachusetts… commits to home grow for 2024 ballot

On September 20, 2023, Jared Moffat, spokesman for the New Approach PAC (“New Approach”), sent an email to supporters of a 2024 Massachusetts ballot initiative that would change how the state regulates psychedelic substances, [stating] “What I believe is that decriminalizing home cultivation, is the right thing to do. And it’s the best policy because,…

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Politics

Oregon leaders tasked to act on Measure 110, fentanyl went to Portugal in search of answers. Here’s what they found

The Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance released a statement shortly after the trip highlighting multiple lessons it said Oregon should take from Portugal: that decriminalization “remains the right thing to do” but that Measure 110 “didn’t go far enough in creating a comprehensive healthcare approach to addiction.” …lawmakers and others on the trip said they…

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Politics

Ukraine: ecstasy, mushrooms to fight war trauma

…calls to permit their use in psychotherapy have been growing in Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion. Experts in Ukraine are appealing to parliament to facilitate the therapeutic use of these substances. Ksenia Voznitsyna, director of the Ukrainian Health Ministry’s Center for Veterans’ Mental Health and Rehabilitation, is a leading voice in the campaign. “We are…

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Politics

Eureka City Council… decriminalizes psychedelic…

Eureka City Council approved a measure decriminalizing entheogenic plant medicines and fungi such as psilocybin mushrooms within the Eureka city limits. A local teacher, Rachel Riggs, told the council that she believes psychedelics can provide unparalleled healing in a community with an elevated rate of adverse childhood experiences… “Entheogens are anti-addictive [and are] among the…

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Politics

God, magic mushroom, and me

As Priest positioned himself on a sofa, Richards asked, “How do you feel?” “I’m a little nervous,” Priest told Richards, who held a degree in theology and was an ordained minister. Richards said with a smile, “You’re about to meet God.” He offered Priest a tablet of psilocybin in a chalice, as if it were…

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Politics

…SAFER banking to aid cannabis businesses

Oregon cannabis sales have totaled nearly $6 billion since the fall of 2016, according to data from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum… joined a coalition of 22 Attorneys General in urging congressional leaders to advance the SAFER Banking Act of 2023, which passed out of the Senate Banking Committee… and…

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