Five Things To Read This Weekend
As ballots hit mailboxes across the state, here’s what Colorado media is saying about Proposition 122, the Natural Medicine Health Act:
5 Things to Know About Colorado’s Psychedelics Ballot Initiative from Markian Hawryluk, Senior Colorado Correspondent, and Matt Volz, Colorado editor, for Kaiser Health News.
“Proposition 122 would allow the personal use of psilocybin mushrooms and certain plant-based psychedelic substances by adults 21 and over but would ban sales except in licensed “healing centers,” where people could ingest them under the supervision of trained facilitators … As of June, 15 cities and other local U.S. jurisdictions have decriminalized possession of psilocybin or deprioritized the policing, prosecution, or arrest of users.
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Emerging research and clinical trials are studying the substances’ effectiveness as an alternative treatment for conditions such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Proponents of the measure say regulation would increase access for people struggling to find effective mental health care. They also say psychedelic mushrooms are not addictive and pose no public safety risk…. Clinical trials have tested psilocybin in combination with therapy. Unlike antidepressants, which must be taken regularly, psilocybin has been shown to have durable treatment effects after just one, two, or three doses… Some research findings show that psilocybin-assisted therapy can be useful in treating substance use disorders, including nicotine and alcohol addiction.”
Colorado Voters Asked To Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms from Colorado Newsline’s Chase Woodruff.
“Advocates point to a vast body of existing research showing that psychedelic substances can be effective in treating depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions. The federal Food and Drug Administration has twice designated psilocybin as a “breakthrough therapy” for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Luke Gruber, an initiative backer and a Marine veteran who suffered from PTSD and depression after serving in Afghanistan, says psilocybin therapy “changed my life.” “I can’t really describe the experience, but I can describe what it was like after my first treatment with natural medicine,” Gruber said in a June press conference following the campaign’s submission of petition signatures. “It was like being reminded of what hope felt like…”
Proposition 122: Colorado Voters Will Decide Whether To Legalize The Possession and Use of Mushrooms from The Colorado Sun’s Jennifer Brown, who writes about mental health care issues in the state and details what a treatment session will look like if the measure passes:
“The idea is to create natural medicine centers where people would consume mushrooms and plant-based psychedelics on site. The measure does not allow for retail mushroom sales, so it’s not modeled after Colorado’s marijuana industry. A client would go through a screening to see whether they are healthy enough and suited to try the treatment, then they would book a series of appointments — a preparation session to discuss [why the person is undergoing treatment and what they hope to gain from it], a session to ingest the mushrooms with a facilitator, and then [a post-ingestion session] to unpack and process the experience … Mental health centers and substance abuse treatment clinics could seek licenses to offer psychedelic treatment, if the measure passes.”
Vote For Psychedelic Meds To Help Vets, Hal Bidlack, “a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs,” write in a piece for the Denver Gazette:
“My libertarian streak is pretty wide when it comes to what people choose to put into their own bodies, as long as that action does not result in the harming of others, so there is that. But I’m also a retired military officer with my own personal battle against PTSD… I had a relatively routine appointment at the clinic on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. As a result of what I had to see and do that day, I deal with significant PTSD symptoms to this day. I never have, and never will, talk about what I saw and did that day, but it is always with me, every day and, especially, every night. For me, my symptoms tend to be nightly nightmares and sleep issues, and associated depression ... But I’m luckier than many folks with PTSD, who often find life far more difficult to live with daily issues that are debilitating… Frankly, I can’t think of any legitimate reason to vote against 122. If you truly want to ‘support the troops’ and the vets that come home with issues (to say nothing of other victims of violence that could benefit), I urge you to vote yes on 122.”
Prop 122 Can Open Door To Promising Mental Health Treatments, University President Charles Lief writes in the Boulder Daily Camera:
“Coloradans have the opportunity to move to the forefront of very promising mental health treatment modalities, rooted in plant medicines, carefully regulated and equitably available. As one veteran, diagnosed with PTSD following tours of duty in Afghanistan said after experiencing psychedelic-assisted therapy, ‘It allowed me to address things which I was not open to addressing, and it has honestly changed my life. I believe I left my PTSD behind in those sessions. I am no longer destructive or closed off. I have my life back.’ Please vote ‘yes’ on Proposition 122.”
