…next… decriminalize [grow, gather, gift] “magic” mushrooms…
“There are folks who have been doing this work for a very long time, but because it’s underground, they can’t really talk about their experience without fear of criminal risk,” Hughes said. “All we get access to is how it’s getting medicalized…” about $600 to begin growing his own mushrooms. “A freaking fungus never should have been described as a drug,” Floyd said. “They never should have been criminalized in the first place.”
While it might be politically viable to frame psychedelics as a treatment for serious mental health issues, that doesn’t account for the underground practitioners who have used psychedelics for decades and generations, said Nicole Foerster… Foerster is also concerned the “healing center” model would place legal emphasis on creating a medical system for psychedelic use, while leaving out individuals and people of color who have sought out psychedelics because of a lack of access and other failures of the mental health system. “Sometimes just connecting to spirit and the divine is healing. In the same way people are healing treatment-resistant depression, they’re using it to become more creative,” Foerster said, adding that many people may not have a diagnosis but could still benefit from use. Foerster and other activists have submitted a pending one-page initiative removing any criminal penalties under state law for possession, use, cultivation or gifting of psilocybin and other plant-derived psychedelics by people 21 and older.
Original Article (Colorado Sun):
Colorado may be the next state to decriminalize “magic” mushrooms as new research shows potential benefits
Artwork Fair Use: Rick Obst
