Starting in 2023, Oregon will be the first state to have legalized psychedelics. The state didn’t approve psychedelic therapy or personal use, though, as Ballot Measure 109, which passed in November 2020, gives the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) the responsibility of overseeing magic mushroom consumption only at “service centers,” and in the presence of “licensed facilitators.”
In November, voters in Colorado followed suit, passing a ballot initiative to decriminalize possession of and legalize limited use of psychedelics by those 21 years of age or older, but not yet their legal sale.
That will happen in 2024 when Colorado will allow the supervised use of two of the drugs found in mushrooms, psilocybin and psilocyn, the two psychoactive components of "magic mushrooms,” at state-regulated “healing centers.”
In California, a new bill is making its way to legalize the possession, preparation, noncommercial transfer, and transportation of psilocybin, psilocyn, DMT, the active ingredient in ayahuasca, ibogaine, a psychedelic derived from the root bark of the iboga tree, and mescaline, the active ingredient in peyote.
Elsewhere in the country, there are a few other cities that have partially decriminalized the use of psychedelics, including Oakland, Santa Cruz, Washington, D.C., Somerville, Cambridge and Northampton in Massachusetts, as well as Seattle.
These are notable steps for proponents of psychedelics who say these can help treat serious mental health issues if administered properly.
In the Silver State, there is movement in this direction as well, mostly from the Democratic Party. With a new Republican governor though, any progress could hit a Joe Lombardo veto wall.
Still, Democratic Assemblywoman Rochelle Nguyen has filed a draft request for Nevada’s 2023 Legislative Session for a bill that would revise “provisions governing controlled substances” including looking into the decriminalization and regulation of psychedelics.
Gordon Brown, a spokesman for the Nevada State Democratic Party, has called for “the legalization, regulation and taxation of therapeutic and recreational psychedelics, as well as the broad decriminalization of drugs, the end of policies relating to the so-called ‘war on drugs.’”
In November of 2020, researchers from Johns Hopkins University indicated a combination of doses of psilocybin along with psychotherapy can help reduce depressive symptoms in adults. According to Alan Davis, an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, “the magnitude of the effect that we saw was about four times larger than what clinical trials have shown for traditional antidepressants on the market.”
The corporate world is also in lockstep, with numerous companies looking to make marketable forms of psilocybin and other substances that are related to psychedelics.
Psychedelics also include LSD, ketamine and MDMA. A danger that could come from taking any drug is the risk that it is laced. Especially in chemically produced psychedelics, there is always a chance that you do not know everything that is in the LSD tab, the MDMA pill, or the line of ketamine. Even with magic mushrooms, you always have to be careful that you know which mushroom you are ingesting, as some mushrooms can be poisonous.
Along with this, if a psychedelic drug is taken in too high of a dose, or too often, it can have severe side effects on the brain, leaving the user with a “fried” feeling. It is important to remember that psychedelic drugs are in fact drugs and should be taken seriously.
Walker Sauls (above), 29, is a board member and the mycology consultant for the Sierra Psychedelic Society, a group in northern Nevada that is pushing for the decriminalization of psychedelics in Nevada. According to their website, “Sierra Psychedelic Society is a Reno-based organization focused on building community, providing education, promoting harm reduction, and advocating for policy reform.”
“The Sierra Psychedelic Society can be seen as both a resource and a driving force for change in our community,” Sauls said, “It offers education and community support surrounding psychedelics and using them intentionally for various benefits.”
With groups like the Sierra Psychedelic Society, it is very possible that more and more stakeholders in Nevada may try to push for decriminalization. “Nevada is building a movement and surrounding political support for legalization/decriminalization that will hopefully manifest in law change in the next several years,” Sauls told us. “A bill needs to be created and introduced, then in order for the laws to change, the citizens of Nevada need to vote in favor of the bill.”
Trinity King, a pseudonym for a UNR psychology major, has been occasionally using psychedelics for the last couple of years. Despite having experience taking psychedelics, King does not want psychedelics to be legalized. “I feel like it's definitely something where if you legalize it, a lot more people will be doing it,” King said, “If younger people are doing it, like 18, I think it's definitely something that you should wait until you’re older. It’s hypocritical because I’ve done it but I feel like it’s definitely something that I should have waited until I was, like, 25 to do.”
Brandon Delcore and Araceli Blount, both 21, have never used psychedelics before. They have differing opinions on the legalization of psychedelics. “I think that it should be legalized in Nevada,” said Delcore. “Psychedelics are already legalized in other states across the country, so if people wanted to take them, they would just need to travel to those states. I feel like it’s only a matter of time until they get legalized here.”
Delcore believes that the decriminalization of psychedelics may be similar to that of marijuana. “I feel like it’s gonna be like weed was,” Delcore said. “There was science that came out that really changed the public’s view of it. I think that’s happening with psychedelics as well.”
“I don’t know, half of me says yes as long as there is clinically recognized science for it, but a lot of me still says no due to the fact that they can get in the wrong hands,” Blount said. “You don’t want children to have access to these drugs because that can completely change the way that they’re developing. My main thing is that there needs to be strong restrictions to be able to get these drugs.”
Sauls also warned that with decriminalization, there would be risks. “Increased access could lead to misuse if not carefully and intentionally executed. This misuse could lead to bad experiences,” Sauls said. “Along with this, big companies could come in, take control, and dilute the ethos and purity of the psychedelic movement in favor of profits.”
So, why were psychedelics criminalized in the first place?
Take the legendary Timothy Leary, the former Harvard psychology professor who specialized in research about psychedelics. In 1960, Leary and a coworker, Richard Alpert, began to explore the effects that psychedelic drugs had on the human mind. Shortly after their arrival at Harvard, they began to experiment with psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound that occurs naturally in select varieties of mushrooms.
At the start of the Harvard Psilocybin Experiment, neither LSD or psilocybin were illegal in the United States. In 1962, there were various staff members who were concerned about the safety of the researchers and participants. Due to the fact that Leary and Alpert were both under the influence of psychedelics while conducting their research, many soon began to become skeptical of the validity of their research. Editorials soon began being published against Leary and Alpert saying that they were simply advocating for the recreational use of psychedelics.
In 1963, Harvard was forced to fire both Leary and Alpert after Alpert was caught administering psilocybin to an undergraduate off-campus, causing their experiment to come to a swift halt. But, their journey with psychedelics did not end there. They both became very prominent social figures in the 60s, continuing to strive for the normalization of psychedelic drugs.
Psychedelics remained legal in the United States until 1973, when the federal government classified them as a schedule 1 drug. According to the DEA, this means that it was found to have no medical uses, cannot be safe under medical supervision, and with a high potential for abuse. Being a schedule 1 drug, this means psychedelics are in the same category as drugs such as heroin or methamphetamine.
However, many are now beginning to challenge this classification. Looking towards the future, there may be a possibility that on certain corners in Reno, you will be able walk into a store and buy LSD or shrooms, a lot like the marijuana dispensaries today. “[Psychedelics and marijuana] have inherent differences, yet it seems like psychedelics are on a similar path cannabis was ten or so years ago when it comes to public acceptance and legalization,” Sauls said.
Until that day comes, remember that psychedelics are still illegal in Nevada. If you are caught with 14 grams or less of magic mushrooms, you could spend up to a year in jail for a first or second offense, and the sentencing could increase to four years for a third offense or larger amounts. If you are caught with LSD, you can land in prison for one to five years with a $10,000 fine.