Politics

Federal health agencies acknowledge therapeutic potential of psychedelics

The heads of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) coauthored a new letter describing that status of research into psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin, LSD and ibogaine. The letter… contains surprising admissions about the therapeutic potential of these federally prohibited controlled substances. It comes in response to an…

READ MORE
Politics

Zero psilocybin [mushroom] arrests in Denver first month after decriminalization

From 2016 to 2018, the Denver Police Department arrested about fifty people per year for psilocybin-related offenses. The Denver City Attorney’s Office is still analyzing the ballot language and will present its findings to law enforcement and the mayor’s office. “We’re set to hear expert input in coming weeks to understand what ‘personal use’ and ‘possession with…

READ MORE
Politics

Amendments protecting Tribal cannabis sovereignty pass the House

This amendment was the first tribal cannabis amendment ever offered and passed on the House floor. This would prohibit Department of Justice from spending money to interfere in any tribal cannabis programs, or interfere with tribal cannabis programs within states that have legalized. Under current law, tribes do not have existing protections for state medical…

READ MORE
Politics

Federal legislation would protect commerce between consenting States [regarding marijuana]

The State Cannabis Commerce Act would protect all state licensed cannabis industries from federal interference, and specifically shields commerce between states that have entered into trade agreements. It opens the door to us to show that allowing legal states to move cannabis from markets where it is abundant to markets where it’s needed. Original Article (Craft…

READ MORE
Politics

Congress votes to block Feds from enforcing marijuana laws in legal states

The United States House of Representatives approved a far-reaching measure on Thursday (6/20/2019) to prevent the Department of Justice from interfering with state marijuana laws, including those allowing recreational use, cultivation and sales. The inclusion of adult-use programs represents a significant expansion of an existing policy that protects only local medical cannabis laws from federal intervention which was first enacted in 2014…

READ MORE
Politics

States consider decriminalizing magic mushrooms

Iowa state Rep. Jeff Shipley, who filed a bill in February to decriminalize psilocybin in [Iowa] State, brings up another argument: personal freedom. “Where did government derive authority to regulate substances to begin with?” he asks … Decriminalization is not the same as legalization; Denver and Oakland will no longer use city money to impose criminal penalties on people age…

READ MORE
Politics

The heady, thorny journey to decriminalize… [psilocybin containing] mushrooms

How quickly is the push to decriminalize psilocybin progressing, exactly? So quickly that it’s even surprised psychedelics advocates. “The fact that it’s happening so fast is kind of amazing,” says Brad Burge, spokesperson for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which leads studies of psychedelic therapies, including the aforementioned MDMA trial. “Here we have…

READ MORE
Politics

California activists take first steps to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms statewide

…crafting a 2020 ballot initiative to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms for medical and religious purposes in California. While the measure would simply lift criminal penalties for psilocybin, the group’s website also states that the campaign is meant to “build the framework for eventual legalization.” Original Article (Marijuana Moment):California activists take first steps to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms…

READ MORE
Politics

Oakland City Council decriminalizes all “natural psychedelics” in landmark resolution

Unlike last month’s landmark initiative in Denver, which specifically targeted psychedelic mushrooms, this broader resolution groups together a variety of plants and fungi under the banner of entheogenic plants or plant compounds. The term entheogen generally refers to psychoactive substances used in religious or spiritual contexts. The Oakland resolution more specifically defines the term in reference…

READ MORE