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Denver will become the first American city to effectively decriminalize mushrooms containing psychedelic psilocybin, also known as "magic mushrooms."
The 301 initiative makes personal use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms among 21-plus-year-olds the lowest possible priority when it comes to law enforcement in Denver. It also prohibits the city from spending resources to institute criminal proceedings for the use or possession of psilocybin mushrooms by those 21 years of age or older.
And the initiative puts in place the "psilocybin mushroom policy review committee to assess and report on the effects of the prescription".
The initiative does not legalize magic mushrooms; they remain illegal under federal law and state. And it does not decriminalize and deprecate protection against the distribution and sale of psilocybin mushrooms – all of which could still be pursued by the police.
According to the Washington Post, Denver police have arrested about 50 people a year in the last three years for possession or sale of psilocybin, and prosecutors have acted in only 11 cases. That makes thousands of arrests in the city each year.
The vote began in Colorado, where there is a postal vote last month and has generally ended Tuesday (although a very small number of overseas and military votes can still be received). Things seemed bad for the initiative late Tuesday, while the results were lagging behind. But on Wednesday, the final tally arrived and showed that the 301 Initiative narrowly won with just under 51 percent, according to the Denver Post and the New York Times.
The results will be certified on May 16th.
Proponents of the measure argue that decriminalization would divert the means of repressing prosecution for non-violent offenses. They claim that psilocybin is safe, non addictive or close to addiction, and that a growing body of evidence suggests that the drug has therapeutic benefits for diseases ranging from depression to late anxiety. of life through the addiction.
Opponents fear that decriminalization will lead to increased drug use. In Denver, they fear that decriminalization will perpetuate the city's reputation as a "drug-friendly city," Jackson Barnett told the Denver Post. Critics also point out that psilocybin poses certain risks – in particular, according to experts, the possibility of traumatic accidents and experiences that can have damaging psychological effects (especially in people who are prone to mental illnesses) .
A potential source of concrete evidence on this subject: Portugal. After decriminalizing all drugs, the country has seen a decrease in drug-related deaths and a decrease in drug use reported last year and the previous month, according to a 2014 Transform Drug Policy report. Foundation. But it has also been observed an increase in the prevalence of drug use over the course of life, as well as a slight increase in reported consumption among adolescents after 2007.
But Portugal has also simultaneously adopted special commissions that try to link drug addicts to treatment. Although the success of the commissions has not yet been fully evaluated, it is possible that, even as decriminalization increases drug use, commissions and increased access to treatment have offset the of people that drug use has further decreased.
Nevertheless, decriminalization alone can have its advantages. A 2009 report by the Libertarian Institute Cato, written by Glenn Greenwald, concluded that decriminalization freed people from the "fear of arrest" when they were seeking help for their dependency and "free up resources that can be channeled to treatment programs and other harm reduction programs."
The effects of the decriminalization of psilocybin in the United States, Colorado or Denver, however, remain to be determined. Even more than the legalization of marijuana, this is a policy area that has not been tested extensively in modern America.
This kind of pioneering vote is not new to Denver or Colorado as a whole. In 2012, Colorado and Washington State became the first two states to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.
Other places, including Oregon and California, are also considering amending their laws on psilocybin.
But Denver moved ahead of the pack, becoming the first American city to effectively decriminalize magic mushrooms.
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