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posted by chromas on Saturday June 15 2019, @01:50PM   Printer-friendly
from the 1UP dept.

Efforts To Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms Beginning To Sprout Nationally

Denver and Oakland recently passed measures decriminalizing magic mushrooms, and it appears to be part of a larger, slow-moving movement to make psilocybin (the mushrooms' psychedelic ingredient) available for treatments for depression and other medicinal purposes, and, of course, recreational purposes.

  • Oregon: The Pacific Northwest is considering a 2020 ballot measure to allow Oregonians to use "guided psilocybin services" for therapeutic purposes. The Psilocybin Service Initiative is the organization behind the measure, and it is working to get the 100,000 petition signatures needed to secure a place on the state's 2020 election ballot.
  • California: After the Oakland measure passed, an organization called Decriminalize California is working on a statewide decriminalization measure for the 2020 election. (A similar measure failed to garner enough petition signatures last year.) According to the organization's strategy timeline, it is fundraising in advance of its fall campaign for petition signatures and promotion.
  • Iowa: State Representative Jeff Shipley, a Republican with a libertarian streak, introduced two magic mushroom-focused bills in February. One bill would remove psilocybin from Iowa's list of controlled substances, and the second would allow medical usage of the substance. Since their introduction, the bills have languished in Iowa's house.

Oakland's decriminalization covers hallucinogens derived from plants or fungi, including but not limited to psilocybin-containing mushrooms and mescaline-containing peyote.

See also: Oakland City Council looks to decriminalize 'magic mushrooms' after Denver vote
Oakland Second US City to Legalize Magic Mushrooms
Oakland Decriminalizes Hallucinogenic 'Magic Mushrooms' And Peyote

Previously: Denver, Colorado Will Vote on Psilocybin Decriminalization Initiative on May 7
Psilocybin Mushroom Decriminalization Narrowly Approved in Denver, Colorado


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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Saturday June 15 2019, @05:22PM (13 children)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Saturday June 15 2019, @05:22PM (#856025)

    So, this is actually really exciting news... 'shrooms and peyote, maybe more than other things, always concerned me with respect to quality of the source. Getting the supply chain out in the open should do great things for safety, potency, and general predictability.

    It's not like people (should be) using these things like they might eat yogurt - if you're only going to take one trip, it's nice to have some assurance that it will be the one you planned.

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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Saturday June 15 2019, @05:48PM (4 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday June 15 2019, @05:48PM (#856031) Journal

    People could easily grow mushrooms at home, and be assured of the quality.

    However, in the case of peyote, a sudden increase in demand caused by decriminalization could strain the supply:

    Peyote is extremely slow growing. Cultivated specimens grow considerably faster, sometimes taking less than three years to go from seedling to mature flowering adult. More rapid growth can be achieved by grafting peyote onto mature San Pedro root stock. The top of the above-ground part of the cactus, the crown, consists of disc-shaped buttons. These are cut above the roots and sometimes dried. When done properly, the top of the root forms a callus and the root does not rot. When poor harvesting techniques are used, however, the entire plant dies. Currently in South Texas, peyote grows naturally but has been over-harvested, to the point that the state has listed it as an endangered species.[citation needed]

    Mexico's Peyote Endangered by 'Drug Tourists' [npr.org] (2007)

    So if it's suddenly hip to try peyote, even fast growing cultivated buttons take years to grow. Leading to natural and cultivated sources being depleted and driving prices up. Maybe.

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    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday June 15 2019, @06:04PM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Saturday June 15 2019, @06:04PM (#856035)

      Either way, if it's not illegal, then supply can ramp up to meet demand... it's not like peyote growing country is in high demand for other agricultural products.

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    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 15 2019, @06:16PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 15 2019, @06:16PM (#856036)

      Someone should save the peyote by making some engineered yeast to produce the drug by tons and make happy every dopefiend. And finaly let the poor plant grow in peace.

      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday June 15 2019, @06:28PM (1 child)

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday June 15 2019, @06:28PM (#856039) Journal

        Mescaline is C11H17NO3. It does seem like a molecule that yeast could be bioengineered to poop out. There might be other substances in the cactus that contribute to the effects, but mescaline should be the main one.

        Here's another angle. If "hallucinogens derived from plants or fungi" covers bioengineered yeast, then you could engineer yeast to make LSD and distribute that. I haven't read the exact text of the measure, but if it does happen the feds are going to crash the party.

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        • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Saturday June 15 2019, @07:25PM

          by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Saturday June 15 2019, @07:25PM (#856051) Journal

          Well, one of the other constituents that contributes to the effect is strychnine. I don't believe that a sub-critical dose has any permanent effects, but it does cause unpleasant reactions that are part of what limited traditional use of peyote.

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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by takyon on Saturday June 15 2019, @06:20PM (1 child)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday June 15 2019, @06:20PM (#856037) Journal

    I have doubts about peyote, but mushrooms could benefit.

    The barriers to entry for growing mushrooms are already very low. People could get started using a grow kit. But you could see tremendous yields with better techniques or farm-scale operations. At some point in between, you can already grow more supply than you could personally use in a lifetime.

    Then you could see more people dealing the mushrooms on the street since it would be the lowest enforcement priority. The risk would be cut down from low/moderate to nearly nothing. For finding a dealer, you could find people openly advertising on Craigslist or other sites and apps. Alternatively, the substance would be spread through friend groups. Out of the network of people you know, more of them would know how to get it or be growing it themselves, and would be more open to talking about it.

    As far as predictability goes, you wouldn't get the predictability of legalized mushrooms: exact psilocybin amounts on a mandated label or even a pure, water soluble psilocybin product. But there may be ways to estimate the contents with reasonable accuracy, and people willing to help do that given the decriminalized status.

    The whole thing could collapse (in Oakland and Denver) if the police decide to ignore the measure(s) or state and federal authorities get involved.

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    • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Saturday June 15 2019, @07:27PM

      by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Saturday June 15 2019, @07:27PM (#856053) Journal

      True. These local acts are mainly a statement of principles, as the actual criminal statues are, I believe, mainly federal with some state rules.

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  • (Score: 1, Disagree) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday June 15 2019, @10:20PM (5 children)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday June 15 2019, @10:20PM (#856077) Homepage

    Great, even before the mushrooms get adulterated with other lab-synthesized crap so dealers can maximize their profits, there will be mass-freakouts in the streets because fucking noobs eat too god-damn much and then get stuck into 3-hour crying fits in the fetal position.

    Mushrooms are not a good drug to have a trip-sitter, either, because having people not on shrooms around ruins the high. When my buddies used to do them, we had a rule, everybody not on shrooms get the fuck out. Either way, it should be interesting to see how this plays out.

    Anyway, I've been over shrooms for years. For the past 10 years it's just been only booze and buds and I'm quite happy with those two.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday June 15 2019, @10:24PM (1 child)

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday June 15 2019, @10:24PM (#856078) Homepage

      Also, its Oakland. Could you imagine the horror that will ensue when already-violent and armed minorities get their hands on free-flowing psychedelics? I think an enterprising shroom dealer should dope their mushies with PCP so the rest of us can have many an entertaining evening watching Oakland riots in the evening news.

      The added bonus to all this would be all those Bay-area liberals bitching about their property values plummeting. Please, please Oakland, stick it to Trump and pass the law!

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday June 15 2019, @10:28PM (2 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday June 15 2019, @10:28PM (#856080) Journal

      the mushrooms get adulterated with other lab-synthesized crap so dealers can maximize their profits

      Press X to doubt.

      Heroin with fentanyl, cannabis with PCP (or pesticides), sure. What are mushrooms going to be laced with, dirt?

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      • (Score: 3, Funny) by MostCynical on Sunday June 16 2019, @01:27AM

        by MostCynical (2589) on Sunday June 16 2019, @01:27AM (#856120) Journal

        People have been putting horse tranquillisers in weed for decades.. so maybe putting something in the watering system will have an effect..

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      • (Score: 1) by Mer on Sunday June 16 2019, @05:27PM

        by Mer (8009) on Sunday June 16 2019, @05:27PM (#856300)

        Mushrooms are usually sold dried, for conservation and to allow more consistent evaluation of doses.
        It's super easy to lace dry shrooms, just soak them in a solution and dry them again.
        In fact, it's one of the reasons most users prefer to grow their own. There have been cases of dealers taking any kind of shrooms and lacing them with unrelated drugs such as ketamine.
        With how easy it is to grow shrooms, that mostly happen because they are not in high demand.

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