Psychedelics & Entheogens

On November 3, 2020, with the approval of Measure 109, Oregon has become the first state to legalize the use of psilocybin products through licensed therapeutic centers. Though Measure 109 doesn’t legalize the possession, manufacturing, and consumption of psilocybin outside of service centers, this measure is still a historic first step.

Denver, Colorado, approved Initiated Ordinance 301 in 2019 with 50.64% of the vote. The ordinance made the adult possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms the lowest law enforcement priority in Denver and prohibited the city from spending resources on enforcing related penalties.

Washington, D.C., voters decided an initiative in November 2020 to declare that police treat the non-commercial cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of entheogenic plants and fungi as among the lowest law enforcement priorities.

Three other cities—Oakland, Santa Cruz, and Ann Arbor—have also decriminalized psilocybin through local ordinances.

With the latest research from leading institutions showcasing the beneficial and therapeutic effects of psilocybin, medical psilocybin might be on track to get FDA approval in the coming years. Similar to the relatively rapid legalization of medical cannabis, it’s only a matter of time before other states, including California, decriminalize and legalize psilocybin as well as other entheogenic plants and fungi.