Midterm Elections: Colorado Votes to Decriminalize Psychedelic Mushrooms

While much of the midterm elections focused on the battle between Republicans and Democrats, a different battle took place in Colorado. Known for having one of the loosest marijuana laws in the country, Colorado voters have voted to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms for people 21 and older.

With the ballot initiative successfully passed, state-regulated "healing centers," where patients can experience the psychedelic drug under supervision, will also be established.

This new initiative in Colorado will take effect sometime in 2024, and it will also allow an advisory board to add other plant-based psychedelic drugs to the program in 2026.

Colorado becomes the second state to vote to establish a regulated system for substances such as psilocybin and psilocin, the hallucinogens found in some psychedelic mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms or shrooms. According to Fortune, the first state to vote for a similar law was Oregon.

Psychedelic Mushrooms Seen to Help Depression, PTSD, and Other Ailments

Much like marijuana, magic mushrooms are also seen to have some medicinal advantages. According to Associated Press, supporters argued that Colorado's current approach to mental health has failed. They also believed that putting people in jail for non-violent offense of using naturally occurring substances costs taxpayers money.

Supporters have long argued that naturally occurring psychedelics, such as magic mushrooms, have been used to treat various ailments for centuries. They added that these drugs might be able to treat depression, PTSD, anxiety, addiction, and other conditions.

According to PBS News, groups such as Natural Medicine Colorado lauded the initiative's passing during the 2022 midterm elections. They helped promote the measure and called its passage a "truly historic moment."

The group noted that "Colorado voters saw the benefit of regulated access to natural medicines," adding that "people with PTSD, terminal illness, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues can heal."

Psychedelic Mushrooms Still Not FDA-Approved

While the initiative did pass in Colorado, its critics have warned that these psychedelic mushrooms still have not gotten approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Critics said allowing these "healing centers" to operate would also allow the private personal use of these drugs. They argued that this would threaten public safety and send a wrong message to children and adults that substances like psychedelic mushrooms are healthy.

Critics have also argued that this latest ballot initiative during the midterm elections has some deep-pocketed players involved, and these are the same people pushing for the legalization of recreational marijuana in various states.

The critics pointed out that these people follow a "similar playbook to create a commercial market," which would eventually lead to recreational dispensaries for dangerous substances.

Colorado's ballot initiative will allow counties and municipalities to regulate healing centers but not ban them. It would also allow people convicted of offenses involving the substances to have their criminal records closed.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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