SUPER DENVER IS THE FIRST AMERICAN CITY TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF DECRIMINALIZING PSILOCYBIN MUSHROOMS...
"INITIATIVE 301" BARELY PASSED WITH A 50-POINT-SIX PERCENT MAJORITY...
AND IS SET TO GO IN EFFECT THIS WEEK...
TONIGHT..
WE'RE GOING TO BREAK DOWN THE SPECIFICS OF THE INITIATIVE...
AND TALK ABOUT HOW THIS UNPRECEDENTED MOVE COULD PLAY OUT...
IN THIS 360 PERSPECTIVE...
HERE ARE SOME BASIC FACTS ABOUT SO-CALLED "MAGIC MUSHROOMS" FROM DRUG POLICY DOT ORG...
THEY ARE NON-ADDICTIVE...
NATURALLY OCCURING ORGANISMS THAT HAVE BEEN USED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS FOR CEREMONIAL AND MEDICINAL PURPOSES ALL OVER THE WORLD...
THERE ARE SEVERAL TYPES OF PSYCHO-ACTIVE MUSHROOMS...
AND ALL OF THEM HAVE A MAIN INGREDIENT CALLED PSILOCYBIN...
THE EFFECTS ARE DIFFICULT TO CATEGORIZE-- AND CAN DEPEND ON A LOT OF FACTORS...
SUCH AS- EACH PERSON...
THE ENVIRONMENT...
WHAT KIND OF MUSHROOMS ARE CONSUMED AND HOW MUCH YOU TAKE...
BUT IN GENERAL -- THE EFFECTS CAN BE ANYTHING FROM MILD RELAXATION TO HALLUCINATIONS...
STUDIES HAVE SHOWN IT'S NEUROLOGICALLY SIMILAR TO DREAMING...
BUT USERS COULD ALSO EXPERIENCE EXTENDED PERIODS OF ANXIETY...
PARANOIA... AND NERVOUSNESS...
IT IS POSSIBLE TO OVERDOSE ON MUSHROOMS...
WHICH CAN HAVE NEGATIVE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL EFFECTS...
BUT DEATHS FROM MUSHROOMS ARE EXTREMELY RARE...
THE DANGER IN CONSUMING
MUSHROOMS MOSTLY LIES IN MISTAKENINGLY INGESTING A POISONOUS KIND...
AS OPPOSED TO A PSYCHO-ACTIVE ONE...
HERE'S WHAT "INITIATIVE 301" DOES....
IT DIRECTS DENVER LAW ENFORCEMENT TO TREAT PSILOCYBIN MUSHROOMS AS THEIR LOWEST PRIORITY.
PEOPLE 21 AND OLDER WITH
MUSHROOMS FOR PERSONAL USE WON'T BE ARRESTED.
IT ALSO PROHIBITS THE USE OF CITY MONEY OR RESOURCES TO ENFORCE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR PEOPLE CAUGHT WITH THESE MUSHROOMS...
AND...
THE MAYOR HAS TO ESTABLISH A PANEL TO REVIEW THE EFFECTS OF THE NEW POLICY BY THE END OF THE YEAR...
THE ELECTION RESULTS WILL BE CERTIFIED ON THURSDAY...
AND WITH THAT...
IT INSTANTLY GOES INTO EFFECT...
TO CLEAR UP SOME CONFUSION...
IT WILL STILL BE ILLEGAL TO SELL AND DISTRIBUTE MUSHROOMS...
-WE AREN'T GOING TO SEE MUSHROOM STORES POPPING UP AROUND OUR STATE CAPITOL...
-AND IT WON'T HELP ANYONE WITH PAST CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS FOR MUSHROOM-RELATED CHARGES...
SUPPORTERS ARE HOPING THE CITY WILL LATER PASS MEASURES SIMILAR TO THE ONE EXPUNGING LOW- LEVEL MARIJUANA OFFENSES...
BUT ANOTHER MAJOR CHANGE WITH THIS INITIATIVE...
AS PART OF RELAXING PUNISHMENTS FOR POSSESSION...
PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO GROW THEM IN THEIR HOMES...
WITHOUT FEAR OF GETTING BUSTED...
AS FAR AS CRIME TRENDS IN DENVER...
DECRIMINALIZATION'S IMPACT WILL BE RELATIVELY LOW...
ACCORDING TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND D-A'S OFFICE....
IN THE LAST THREE YEARS...
DENVER HAS AVERAGED 52 MUSHROOM-RELATED ARRESTS...
THEY PROSECUTED 92 HUNDRED DRUG CASES...
AND ONLY ELEVEN OF THEM INVOLVED PSILOCYBIN...
AND ONLY THREE OF THOSE WERE FOR "INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE." BUT THINGS COULD CHANGE...
DENVER CITY COUNCIL HAS THE POWER IN DENVER TO INTERVENE BY CHANGING THE WAY THE INITIATIVE WORKS...
OR SLOWING ITS IMPLEMENTATION...
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED IN 2016...
WHEN VOTERS APPROVED BUSINESS LICENSES FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION OF MARIJUANA IN THE CITY...
COUNCIL IMPLEMENTED MORE RESTRICTIONS THAN WHAT VOTERS PASSED...
TODAY...
THERE IS ONLY ONE OFFICIALLY LICENSED SOCIAL CONSUMPTION BUSINESS...
MUCH LIKE THE MOVEMENT TO DECRLIMINALIZE AND EVENTUALLY LEGALIZE MARIJUANA...
THE GROUP "DECRIMINALIZE DENVER" HAS CITED MEDICAL REASONS AS THEIR MOTIVATION FOR CHANGE...
THE MUSHROOM ADVOCACY GROUP "MULTI-DISCPLINARY ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCHEDELIC STUDIES" WEBSITE HAS LINKS TO SEVERAL ONGOING AND FULLY PUBLISHED SCIENTIFIC
STUDIES ON PSILOCYBIN AND ITS EFFECTS....
IF YOU'D LIKE TO READ MORE...
YOU CAN CHECK OUT THE LINK IN THE ONLINE VERSION OF THIS STORY ON KOAA DOT COM...
AND WHILE WE ARE STILL A LONG WAY OFF FROM FULL LEGALIZATION OF PSILOCYBIN MUSHROOMS...
ADVOCATES HERE IN COLORADO HOPE THIS IS THE FIRST BIG STEP TOWARD THIS... THERE ARE ALSO THOSE AGAINST THIS...
INCLUDING JEFF HUNT..
DIRECTOR OF COLORADO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY'S CENTENNIAL INSTITUTE...
WHO SAYS DENVER IS QUICKLY BECOMING THE ILLICIT DRUG CAPITAL OF THE WORLD...
AND WE HAVE NO IDEA THE LONG TERM HEALTH EFFECTS OF THESE DRUGS...
AND MUSHROOMS ARE STILL ILLEGAL UNDER FEDERAL LAW.
AS ALWAYS...
IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA OR AN ISSUE YOU THINK NEEDS A 360 PERSPECTIVE.