After marijuana, are magic mushrooms next to be decriminalised in California? | Hacker News Reader

After marijuana, are magic mushrooms next to be decriminalised in California?

theguardian.com

25 pointszimbu6688 comments

If it follows the trajectory of marijuana, it starts with clinical use and destigmatization. People who wouldn't normally support legalization or even decriminalization can and will be convinced by anecdotes and articles about safe, controlled, and therapeutic use. It happened with MJ, it can happen again.

That being said, safe, controlled use is especially important for powerfully psychoactive substances. Make no mistake--psilocybin is much more powerful than THC. While I support use of psilocybin and the aim of the petition and its authors, I recognize the essential role that medical marijuana played in winning hearts and minds of John Q. Public.

If you feel the same way, check out the work done by the Heffter Research Institute (http://heffter.org/) They've funded many studies on the effectiveness of psilocybin (disclosure: I know the founder).

That, and getting casual, social use of mushrooms to appear in prominent TV shows and movies. Not the party scenes from a frat movie, but 30-, 40-, and even 50-somethings consuming them in a social setting in which the supporting actors don't even raise an eyebrow or cast it in a positive light.

Make it seem to the public that it's a normal thing, everyone is doing it. Once a large enough portion of the voting population see it as no big deal, they're more likely to say "why not?" at the polls, even if they don't have any interest in partaking.

It takes several years, but it has proven effective.

I think it is too early to push this. Wait for marijuana to be fully integrated throughout the state before pushing something like this.

I am open to being wrong, but I agree. I think that this is might be a good thing as far as lessening the stigma surrounding magic mushrooms, but I feel as though there needs to be a better reason than "I’m at a loss at what to do politically, but the only thing I feel like we could do is get psilocybin into more people’s hands.”

In my opinion, for certain psychological issues mushrooms are much more beneficial than medical marijuana. However like the article states, mushrooms need to be treated with the respect they deserve and must be taken carefully and in a safe and comforting environment. I don't see this taking off yet though. The potential a mushroom trip going in the wrong direction is much more likely than THC and can be and extremely terrifying experience. I speak from experience, but if respected properly and approached in a good manner, I think they can be extremely beneficial.

Reminds me of medical heroin ads on GTA V radio.

It should have been first but hey, nice to see any progress on this.

Subproject 58. Groovy.

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