Magic Mushrooms Could Become Legal In Oregon

OREGON -- Oregon could become home to the legal, recreational use of magic mushrooms. A campaign to legalize Psilocybin, informally known as magic mushrooms, is making its way to voters.

The group, Oregon Psilocybin Society, is asking voters to legalize the use of the drug in the 2020 election.

"Under the proposed measure, any individual over 21 years of age, upon attaining medical clearance from a physician, could participate in a sequence of sessions, provided on-site at a state licensed Psilocybin Service Center," according to the group's website. "The service progression would include, at minimum, a preparation session, a Psilocybin administration session, and an integration session. All sessions would be facilitated by trained and certified Psilocybin Service Facilitators who are registered with the state."

The group claims that the drug "poses no serious threat to a healthy human body."

"Psilocybin, after all, is an off-patent, organic agent which creates change through the psychedelic experience it provides, such that a single experience often changes a person’s disposition moving forward," the group wrote in an open letter to voters. "And the psilocybin model, which includes preparation, psychedelic facilitation, and integration afterwards, doesn’t just match the effectiveness of a typical 'meds and therapy' regimen. Where typical interventions fail, psilocybin therapy, with impressive frequency, breaks through."

A similar campaign to legalize Psilocybin is making its way through California, where supporters hope the measure lands on the 2018 ballot.

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring hallucinogen found in certain species of mushrooms. There are an estimated 180 species of mushrooms that contain psilocybin. Users typically experience hallucinations when they eat the mushrooms.

The National Institutes of Health estimates that more than 30 million people in the U.S. are psychedelic users.

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