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Denver decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms

denverpost.com

51–60 of 151 posts

Re: Denver decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms

#51
post #4

Story isn't entirely accurate, Connecticut decriminalized them a couple years ago: https://apnews.com/0216054dc6cd453f8d83de8bbc84caeb https://www.cga.ct.gov/2015/ACT/pa/pdf/2015PA-00002-R00HB-07...

Did a search, don't see "mushroom" or "psilocybin" specifically mentioned in either of those links. Mind pointing specifically to what you're referring to?

Search for 'hallucinogenic' in the second link. The text in bold brackets is what was deleted in the new version. It doesn't single out psilocybin specifically, they just decriminalized all drugs including hallucinogens.

Re: Denver decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms

#52
post #5

> As written, I-301 directs police via ordinance to treat enforcement of laws against possession of psilocybin mushrooms as their lowest priority ... Psychedelic mushrooms still would remain illegal to buy, sell or possess ... Initiative 301 backers hope to lower the risk users face of getting caught with mushrooms. So "decriminalize" seems to be the wrong word since it's just as criminal as before. Better would be "…

That's what decriminalization means:

> In a federal country, acts may be decriminalized by one level of government while still subject to penalties levied by another; for example, possession of a decriminalized drug may still be subject to criminal charges by one level of government, but another may yet impose a monetary fine. This should be contrasted with legalization, which removes all or most legal detriments from a previously illegal act.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decriminalization

Re: Denver decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms

#54

The key question I have about decriminalisation of marijuana and things like mushrooms and hopefully MDMA soon, is "will it reduce the number of people who try meth/ice?" My theory is that people become addicted to meth/ice because they want to get high, but "good" drugs like marijuana and MDMA/mushrooms are not legal/available/cheap, so people buy/try meth/ice. Put another way, my theory is that legalisation of "goo…

>people become addicted to meth/ice because they want to get high

s/want to get high/are unhappy

and... not because they want to get high, but, because meth is addictive, by it's very nature. cannabis and psilocybin are not addictive. to further your point...

Re: Denver decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms

#55
post #36

The key question I have about decriminalisation of marijuana and things like mushrooms and hopefully MDMA soon, is "will it reduce the number of people who try meth/ice?" My theory is that people become addicted to meth/ice because they want to get high, but "good" drugs like marijuana and MDMA/mushrooms are not legal/available/cheap, so people buy/try meth/ice. Put another way, my theory is that legalisation of "goo…

I doubt there will ever be a clear answer on this. More likely, there will be a variety of factors. That said, the "gateway drug" effect is real. It's been shown in many studies (although I'm not sure how many looked at shrooms as the gateway- usually it's weed). Likewise, we've probably all seen people drink ever-stronger drinks to get drunk/buzzed once their body because resistant to alcohol. Other drugs are no dif…

The gateway drug effect is only real in a black market where an actor will likely be pushing many different drugs. If they are all available legally, and the populace is educated about them, the outcome is likely to be better than the contrary, where it's illegal, and taboo.

Re: Denver decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms

#56
post #47
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there is no competition for cannabis or psilocybin. > i'd love to see this argued in court. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzales_v._Raich > In both cases, the regulation is squarely within Congress' commerce power because production of the commodity meant for home consumption, be it wheat or marijuana, has a substantial effect on supply and demand in the national market for that commodity. (To be clear, I disagre…

Recent... and interesting... > Respondents in this case do not dispute that passage of the CSA, as part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, was well within Congress' commerce power. Nor do they contend that any provision or section of the CSA amounts to an unconstitutional exercise of congressional authority. Rather, respondents' challenge is actually quite limited; they argue that the CSA's c…

the funny thing is, technically, if they did legalize cannabis and psilicybin, federally, THEN, it actually would fall under the commerce clause and they could regulate it as they see fit.

checkmate.

Re: Denver decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms

#57
post #5

> As written, I-301 directs police via ordinance to treat enforcement of laws against possession of psilocybin mushrooms as their lowest priority ... Psychedelic mushrooms still would remain illegal to buy, sell or possess ... Initiative 301 backers hope to lower the risk users face of getting caught with mushrooms. So "decriminalize" seems to be the wrong word since it's just as criminal as before. Better would be "…

That's what decriminalization means: > In a federal country, acts may be decriminalized by one level of government while still subject to penalties levied by another; for example, possession of a decriminalized drug may still be subject to criminal charges by one level of government, but another may yet impose a monetary fine. This should be contrasted with legalization, which removes all or most legal detriments fro…

Huh? Decriminalization would be the state declaring that possessing Psilocybin is not illegal under state law. Directing law enforcement to de-prioritize it is not the same thing.

Re: Denver decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms

#58
post #5

> As written, I-301 directs police via ordinance to treat enforcement of laws against possession of psilocybin mushrooms as their lowest priority ... Psychedelic mushrooms still would remain illegal to buy, sell or possess ... Initiative 301 backers hope to lower the risk users face of getting caught with mushrooms. So "decriminalize" seems to be the wrong word since it's just as criminal as before. Better would be "…

NYC similarly deprioritized marijuana in 2014 but what happened in practice was only minorities were getting arrested during 'stop and frisk' searches in the subway. Now arrests are back up to what they were before. It's actually kind of a clusterfuck.

yeah its really awkward when surveys show one distribution of illegal drug use across all races and socioeconomic classes

but then you see a completely different distribution about who gets arrested for it, and it is very disproportionate

all for some edgelord to say "but they commit all the crimes its fact see" and its really like everyone commits crimes, which is a depressing standard from one lens but even more depressing that one group simply doesn't get the privilege of doing illegal things because they'll actually get arrested for it

Re: Denver decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms

#59
post #3

Interesting, I saw an article claiming it narrowly failed a bit ago and was saddened. I have never tried them personally, but I suspect the threat of being arrested makes it harder to have a good "set and setting". I know that I never enjoyed cannabis until a trip to a place it was legal. Knowing that I was 100% ok to imbibe took away all my worries about detection, people knowing I was high, etc, and let me enjoy th…

Shrooms are very different. Brain chemistry almost impossible to predict ~ you may think you have a good set and setting, and then get permanently damaged. Who knew!

Permanently damaged?

Got a source that shows, empirically, you're more likely to be permanently damaged from taking psilocybin than while commuting to work, jogging, swimming, or doing any other normal life activity?

Sure, I'm not going to argue with you that some people shouldn't be doing these things alone. Shit, I would even argue that someone experienced actually should probably be around to assist and guide. Shamans, witches, clergy, magicians, psychologists, gurus, life coaches, etc.... there's no shortage of archetypes to fit the paradigm. It's a real thing, and we should support it.

... and if someone wants to just go trip and journey on their own... they should be allowed... and we should do all we can to help them prepare.

Re: Denver decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms

#60
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Molly’s significantly more dangerous than acid or psilocybin, no?

The danger of MDMA is overstated. From an actual chemical toxicity standpoint it's relatively safe, accidental overdose would be next to impossible. You can have a gram in one go (average dose is somewhere around 80-250 mg), and although you'd probably feel pretty sick, you'll be fine. Even the danger for dehydration/overhydration is overstated. Heatstroke is a danger when using it during the day in summer (e.g. at f…

You're spreading dangerous nonsense here.

E-Tards are commonplace in the EDM scene. Participants were so aware of the negative effects they preloaded with multivitamins and antioxidant cocktails to try mitigate them when I last attended raves years ago.

I'm not generally one to tell people to avoid recreational drugs, but MDMA overdoses are no joke, especially if you're exceptionally smart. The greater your mental capacity, the more you'll notice the damage when it's taken away.

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