Legal Magic Mushrooms?
Well, not exactly, but we’re getting there.
Back in May 2019, Denver became the first city to Decriminalize psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient found various species of “magic mushrooms”. Then, a few weeks later, Oakland City Council voted to decriminalize possession and use of entheogenic plants and fungi.
Now, there are several local and state governments following their lead. Activists have been pushing for decriminalization of psilocybin, and other psychoactive plant species, including DMT- an active ingredient in Ayahuasca.
Let’s take a look at what all this REALLY means on the ground level, and what to expect going forward.
Are Magic Mushrooms Legal?
The Federal Government has labeled psilocybin, DMT, LSD, ecstacy, and Cannabis as Schedule 1 Drugs. This means they have no medical value and a high potential for abuse. They place these substances in the same category as Heroin, and possession carries hefty fines and penalties.
As of now, this has not changed.
What has changed is, local governments are deciding that prosecuting people for possessing these plants and fungi, isn’t in their best interests. Both Oakland and Denver are not going to use the city’s money prosecuting adults(+21) for possessing or using magic mushrooms. However, selling is still illegal, and will likely get you pinched.
So, decriminalization isn’t exactly the same as legalization. You can’t go to your local dispensary and pick up an eighth of magic mushrooms, but you shouldn’t be concerned about having a few grams with you at a concert.
The Oakland measure went further than Denver’s, and decriminalized ALL entheogenic plants. This list includes cacti such as Peyote and San Pedro, Ayahuasca, and the various DMT containing plants.
Which Cities Have Decriminalized
“…Rocky mountain high, Colorado.”
Denver gets the trophy for being first. Voters passed a ballot initiative in May, and, I believe , turned a corner in our Nation’s “war on drugs”. I saw it as a “F#&K You” to the Federal Government, and to anyone scared of free thinking people exploring their own consciousness.
Oakland went big, and won. They opened the door to Ayahuasca, Mescaline Cacti, as well as Magic Mushrooms. They decriminalized plants/fungi containing tryptamines, mescaline, psilocybin, and a few others, including Iboga.
While Cannabis, psilocybin, and all the other entheogens are still considered illegal at the Federal level, more and more states are making changes to their ‘War on Drugs’. Cannabis becoming legal, Federally, is a matter of when, not if. Now that local areas are pushing for the freedom to use these plant teachers, I feel, they will follow a similar path out of prohibition.
At the time of writing this article, only Denver and Oakland have passed, and put into effect, a decriminalization measure. That seems VERY likely to change in the near future.
**Update 2/3/2020
After hearing from advocates last November, and passing through a safety committee, Santa Cruz City Council voted last week to decriminalize psychoactive plant medicine, such as Magic Mushrooms(Psilocybin), Ayahuasca, and mescaline containing Cacti. They become the 2nd city in California to do so, following in Oakland’s footsteps.
The provision allows for personal cultivation, and I think this is an important part. I’ve always felt, growing the medicine, is part of the medicine.
Where Next?
The local level reform movement is spreading nationwide. Portland, Chicago, Berkeley, and Dallas, Tx are all pushing for change through ballot measures, and/or City Council actions. Using the blueprint that worked in Oakland, a Decriminalize Nature network has struck a nerve in both closet psychonauts and the open-minded.
The idea is getting attention. A group in California is crafting a 2020 initiative that would decriminalize magic mushrooms Statewide. In Oregon, activists are trying to legalize psilocybin for therapeutic use, Statewide. If either proposal were passed, it would be a huge victory for freedom over the ‘War on Drugs’.
That’s not all though. There are dozens of cities that have their own proposals in the works, or locals are keen to the idea. In fact there were 49 cities across 27 States, according to Decriminalize Nature.
That’s a really big number of cities, that represents a MUCH larger number of residents. It appears that the Nation’s sentiment towards ‘drugs’, is going through a paradigm shift.
I am thrilled by this, and with the injustice, that is the calling card of the ‘War on Drugs’, it’s a wonder it took so long!
Conclusion
The World is changing around you. It wasn’t that long ago, you couldn’t get access to medical marijuana, and, in many States, you still can’t. That said, in the majority of the country, medical marijuana is totally accessible. Now, recreational marijuana is starting to spread, State to State, and I expect that trend to pick up speed as States see the benefit their neighbors have from it.
Entheogens are going to follow the same path, but I think it will be a slower ride than with Cannabis.
I hope I’m wrong.
I hope as the stigma placed on entheogens fades, more minds open to the idea of freedom, and the whole movement goes up like a wildfire.
Burn, baby, burn.
We are NOT Lawyers. We are NOT responsible for your choices. Always know the law! Freedom=Responsibility.
