Voters in Denver appeared to reject the nation’s first referendum on decriminalizing hallucinogenic mushrooms Tuesday. Though some votes were still being counted, NO votes had totaled 51.7% of those cast, and YES votes were 48.3% as of 1 a.m. Mountain time. The voters turned down a change in Denver law that would have required police to make arresting people for personal possession or use of psilocybin mushrooms “the lowest law enforcement priority in the city and county of Denver.”
“Tonight, it was win or learn,” Kevin Matthews, the leader of the “Decriminalize Denver” movement, which placed Initiative 301 on the ballot, told USA Today. “At the very least, we’ve demonstrated that we can get psilocybin legislation on the ballot. My mindset is that it’s not a loss, it’s a lesson.”
Although recreational marijuana is now legal in Colorado, the mushroom referendum affected only Denver. Hallucinogenic mushrooms remain illegal in Denver and the rest of Colorado, and selling them will still be a felony. They also remain a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law. Matthews said they would not have been available in the city’s cannabis dispensaries and should still be used carefully.
The initiative also establishes a review panel to analyze the public safety, administrative, fiscal and health impacts of the decriminalization of mushrooms.
Denver’s law enforcement community was not thrilled by the prospect of more readily available hallucinogens. Although the Denver Police Department declined to comment, a spokeswoman for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock (D), who was leading in his bid for a third term on Tuesday, said he opposed the initiative, and Denver District Attorney Beth McCann (D) also voiced opposition.
“We’re still figuring out marijuana, and even though things are going well so far, we’re still measuring the impacts on the people of Denver,” McCann said. She said she feared that, if the measure passed, Denver would attract more drug users and mushroom-influenced drivers would create havoc.
But a number of studies have shown that psilocybin can have positive, lasting effects on depression, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, addictions and anxiety. Matthews said his own experience with mushrooms had helped him overcome major depression.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has granted “breakthrough therapy” status to study psilocybin for treating depression. The FDA describes breakthrough therapy as designed to expedite development of a drug after preliminary evidence shows “the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over available therapy.”
Matthews said psilocybin has been shown to help reduce dependence on opioids.
“Given our national crisis with opioids, that’s a big one,” he said. He also noted that a large, and rising, percentage of the American populace is taking medication for mental health. “It’s pretty clear” from the FDA granting psilocybin “breakthrough status,” Matthews said, “that the federal government knows we need some other solutions as well.”
The Denver Psilocybin Initiative raised about $45,000 in support of the campaign, advertising mostly on social media and posters around Denver, and it gathered more than 9,000 signatures to get Initiative 301 on the ballot. There was no organized opposition.
