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Denver's Initiative 301 would decriminalize the use and possession of mushrooms containing the psychedelic compound psilocybin by making shrooms Denver's "lowest law enforcement priority". The vote is on Tuesday, May 7, alongside general elections for mayor, city auditor, city clerk and recorder, and all 13 city council seats. The initiative is supported by Decriminalize Denver, the Denver Green Party, and the Libertarian Party of Colorado. Opponents include the Centennial Institute, a conservative think tank from Colorado Christian University.
Will Denver Vote to Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms?
In 2005, Denver residents voted to become the first major U.S. city to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Two years later, they voted to decriminalize cannabis entirely. For the city's elections this spring, they're being asked if they want to do the same thing for psilocybin, the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms.
If passed, Initiative 301 would decriminalize the possession and use of a drug that is illegal in all states and at the federal level. No matter the result, it marks the first time in United States history that the legal status of psilocybin has been challenged, and it's putting Denver once again at the center of a debate on drug policy.
[...] State laws would remain unchanged, meaning state prosecutors could continue to bring psilocybin cases to court in Denver. While this type of decriminalization law may reduce drug arrests, drug policy experts consider it more of a symbolic gesture that could precede full legalization, much as cannabis laws did in the mid-2000s.
That fact hasn't been lost in Denver's debate over the issue. Opponents say decriminalization of psilocybin could eventually lead to full legalization, putting Denver—a city already known for its embrace of recreational marijuana—down the path toward becoming a drug haven.
Denver residents will also vote on Initiated Ordinance 300: Denver "Right to Survive" Initiative that would overturn an "urban camping" ban:
A "yes" vote is a vote in favor of adding "Article IX - Right to Survive in Public Spaces" to the Denver Revised Municipal Code, thereby allowing the following activities in outdoor public places without limits or penalties enforced by the city or county, law enforcement, or any other entity:
- resting;
- sheltering oneself;
- eating or exchanging food; and
- occupying one's own legally parked vehicle or a legally parked vehicle with permission of the owner.
Finally, the Denver Airport Employees Minimum Wage Increase Initiative would require private employers to pay Denver airport employees $15/hour by 2021.
At least 15% of Denver voters have taken advantage of early voting.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @08:21PM (5 children)
The opponents are mostly conservative religious types. Why do they want these substances banned? Because without the outlet of drugs, most people turn to religion. What people don't understand about Marx's statement about 'religion being the opiate of the masses' is that it is true. And like all large organized drug pushers they want the wealth, power and control that comes from being the only dealer in town.
It is as simple as that.
With the exceptions of occasional caffeine and alcohol consumption I am also not a drug user. I have spoken in depth with many people who are drug users. Some recreational, others addicts, as well as people who recovered on their own and are now clean. Some do it as a form of experimentation or creativity enhancement. But many use it as a form of escape or a coping mechanism for a world that doesn't care about them, and that they either do not fit in or cannot comfortably understand.
If people REALLY cared about solving the drug epidemic, rather than finding a way to exploit people, they would work on the underlying issues. Pain management, mental health, social anxiety, and making people feel like they had a place in the world and people who give a fuck that they are happy and healthy. There are outliers who won't be helped even with all of this, but 90 or more percent of people I know who have used or currently use drugs fall into this group. It's not for fun, it's how they survive life. Any 'fun' itself is just trying to destress for the next week of work and trying to keep from sliding down the slippery slopes of either insanity or poor job performance leading to termination.
(Score: 3, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Monday May 06 2019, @09:06PM (1 child)
You're running the risk of a total flamewar claiming that Marx may have been right about anything.
OK, you should be safe.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 07 2019, @02:35PM
[1 page history of WWII and soviet russia]
[rage]
[mao]
[basic misunderstandings of us tax structure (5 pages)]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @10:06PM
Religion has been declining in the West for a long time now. Screwing with the drug laws won't change that.
Join a Peyote church. [peyoteway.org]
(Score: 2) by edIII on Monday May 06 2019, @11:39PM (1 child)
You've missed two important aspects of illicit drug use, while alluding to one of them briefly:
MJ is clearly a legitimate and effective choice for pain management without the serious side affects (addiction and death) that the paid-for Capitalism-approved pharmaceutical solution causes. The Sacklers should burn in the lowest levels of Hell while being sodomized repeatedly by Satan's planet-wide cock. The amount of pain and tragedy they've caused far outweighs the drug war, and I find them quantifiably worse than the "dirty despicable drug dealers" that tormented us with costly urban warfare for the last 30 years.
Many classes of drugs are used in spiritual practices. In some of these cases, escaping is exactly what you're NOT supposed to do. It's to be used to attain higher states, and then work with them constructively. Not sit on the couch, eat potato chips, and laugh at Cheech and Chong till your sides hurt. All of that is subjective of course and doesn't require you to believe in it. I would just caution you against throwing this type of usage into the "Escapist" box. Shamanism takes natural substances pretty seriously in the goals of healing people.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 07 2019, @12:53AM
For those like me that had to google 'The Sacklers' :
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/30/the-family-that-built-an-empire-of-pain [newyorker.com]
Mr edIII is entirely correct in his statement.