Denver Just Decriminalized Psychedelic Mushrooms

Denver just decriminalized shrooms. Take a moment to let that sink in. A city in the United States of America just softened the penalties around a very popular and very safe psychedelic drug—magic mushrooms.

Tuesday night and all Wednesday morning it seemed as if Initiative 301 would be rejected by Denver voters. However final unofficial results just posted show a surprising reversal of fortune — the measure looks like it will pass with 50.6 percent of the vote. The total stands at 89,320 votes in favor and 87,341 against — a margin of 1,979 votes.

“Nothing has healed my mental health more than psychedelics and I’m excited for the precedent that’s been set in Denver,” says Operation EVAC’s founder Ryan Miller who uses psychedelics like magic mushrooms to help prevent suicides in the veteran community here in the Bay Area. “Colorado has a reputation for being “veteran-friendly” and the decision that it’s Capitol made to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms further extends that reputation. I’m thankful that our voting Comrades in Colorado just demonstrated what progressive policy looks like.”

Deciminalization is how medical marijuana legalization began here in California prior to the passage of Prop 15. And it’s what led to the legalization of recreational marijuana across several states. Miller hopes that similar softening of laws around psychedelic mushrooms will make his mission of providing plant medicine and support even easier.

“Veterans defend rights and freedom. And the freedom to ingest medicinal plants is important to fight for,” explains Miller who is involved in a movement to decriminalize magic mushrooms in the city of Oakland, California. He is part of a coalition of activist groups known collectively as Decriminalize Nature.

Last year California tried to put mushroom decrim on the ballot but it didn’t qualify. However activist in the Golden State as well as Oregon hope to see it on the ballot next year.

“Similarly to the expansion of adult-use cannabis in California after Colorado’s leadership,” says Miller, “I forecast further progressive legislation toward normalizing plant and fungi medicines and finally ending the racist war on drugs here at home in California.



Leave a Reply