Back in July, we informed our readers that Oregon would officially vote on legalizing psychedelic psilocybin therapy. Fast forward to today, and the results of that vote are in: adults in Oregon can now legally access hallucinogenic mushrooms.
This is a big deal. The Optimist Daily has long been an advocate of the therapeutic potential of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. That’s because magic mushrooms can provide something to people that antidepressants cannot: an emotional release, which stands in the polar opposite of antidepressants that “blunt” the emotions of patients.
Oregon’s Measure 109 will direct the state to establish and regulate a program whereby adults in the state will be able to consume psilocybin. That’s what sets Measure 109 apart from other decriminalization efforts: Rather than blocking penalties for possessing psychedelic products, it would establish a state-regulated program for using and obtaining them.
In Washington DC, voters also approved a measure that will effectively decriminalize “magic mushrooms” and other organic psychedelic drugs. However, unlike Oregon, the measure does not legalize magic mushrooms but rather re-categorizes them as “the lowest level police enforcement priority.”
In other news on drug reform, the states of New Jersey, South Dakota, Montana, and Arizona have voted to legalize recreational marijuana. That means 1 in 3 Americans now live in a state where recreational marijuana is legal.
