 Art by Danny Starr Congratulations Denver! You did it! Initiative 301 passed by just about 1% in the late voting hours. (Apparently the psychedelic people are not in a hurry!) This will allow for personal adult use of sacred psychedelic mushrooms. "It's going to the be the ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!" I joked with a more conservative democrat family member who lives in Denver. "They're going to be jumping off buildings any minute!" I was humorously paying homage to the notorious "Reefer Madness" propaganda campaign, which fueled the early drug war and demonized cannabis medicine with misinformation. This campaign was intentionally crafted for political reasons: controlling the political dissidents and people of color. "Reefer Madness" stood in contradiction to multiple studies commissioned at the time which said that cannabis was not only safe, but had the potential for medical uses.  Incredible research has been emerging lately demonstrating the therapeutic effects of psychedelic medicines and microdosing, yet these are powerful forces that come with risks. One person posted online: I am so concerned about people misusing and abusing these medicines! I understood her concern, and yet, criminalizing a substance NEVER stops people from misusing and abusing anything. HOWEVER, decriminalizing a substance creates the opposite; it brings the light of more education, creates space for the study of harm reduction strategies, lifts stigma, and cultivates authentic communities to hold the medicines in a good way, as tribes have done since the dawn of time. Certainly there may be a bit of an adjustment period, but it is a good overall trajectory. For example, we will have more local support & education groups like the Psychedelic Society of San Francisco and virtual programs like the cutting edge School of SOMA that is currently in development, a platform for online education teaching people how to grow their own sacred mushrooms, safely navigate the experience, and integrate the experience to benefit daily life and relationships. Visit the School of SOMA WEBSITE & subscribe to their email list to be the first to know about their launch! Portugal gives us a longterm view of what happens with drug decriminalization, and it is certainly NOT the zombie apocalypse... Since Portugal enacted drug decriminalization in 2001, the number of people voluntarily entering treatment has increased significantly, overdose deaths and HIV infections among people who use drugs have plummeted, incarceration for drug-related offenses has decreased, and rates of problematic and adolescent drug use has fallen.  Are you curious about psychedelic medicine & integration coaching? We can explore... • General information about sacred (psychedelic) medicines • Risk reduction strategies • How to choose the right medicine and the right provider for you • Sacred medicine preparation & integration • Addiction recovery with sacred medicine • Creating your sacred medicine-informed visionary life • Microdosing education Comments are closed.
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