Magic mushrooms should be decriminalised

Research into their therapeutic uses should not be bogged down in legal difficulties

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Magic mushrooms should be decriminalised

Research into their therapeutic uses should not be bogged down in legal




Magic mushrooms should be decriminalised

Research into their therapeutic uses should not be bogged down in legal difficulties




difficulties







It was like when you defrag the hard drive on your computer. I experienced blocks going into place, things being rearranged in my mind. I visualised, as it was all put in order, a beautiful experience with these gold blocks going into black drawers that would illuminate and I thought: ‘My brain is being defragged! How brilliant is that!’” said Patient 11 in a small trial carried out at Imperial College, London, into the effects of psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, on people with depression resistant to available treatments. Six months on, the experience had left its mark. “My mind works differently. I ruminate much less, and my thoughts feel ordered, contextualised.”

The rehabilitation of psychedelic drugs, banned in most countries, is under way (see article). Oakland, California, in effect decriminalised psychoactive plants and fungi this week; a Republican state senator wants to do the same in Iowa; Denver decriminalised magic mushrooms last month; and campaigns in California and Oregon demand ballots to decriminalise psychoactive plants and legalise the therapeutic use of psilocybin, respectively.