Magic mushrooms should be decriminalised

[oxide]

I suffer from chronic migraines.

Psilocybin mushrooms, and other psychedelics are one of the few things that truly alleviate the suffering, which for me is now over 25 days a month. With my prescriptions covering half of that timeframe on a good month.

I might have shot myself if it wasn't for discovering this application for psychedelics after developing the condition.

For my sake, and for the sake of others suffering migraines, please educate yourself on this use case. Regardless of your opinion on psychedlic decriminalization, I absolutely implore you.

[djakjxnanjak]

Out of curiosity, have you tried the triptan class of drugs? They are migraine pills that have some similarities to the tryptamines but are not psychoactive.

[CodeBiscuit]

if you don't mind my asking - how much do you doe? Do you microdose more often to prevent migraines or take them "as-and-when" required?

[dmitryminkovsky]

I wish people would stop calling them magic mushrooms. The forces against legalization take every opportunity to refer to "magic mushrooms." There is nothing magical about them. Hallucinogens are awesome chemicals and can affect profound positive and negatives effects on us. They should be treated with care and afforded serious dignity, especially in calls for legalization.

[andrewstuart]

So should LSD and ectasy/MDMA, cocaine and heroin.

I don't use these drugs but it's a good thing for our society if they are available cheap and clean to people who want/need them.

They should be sold behind the counter from pharmacies and not allowed to be advertised, same as cigarettes in Australia.

When drugs are illegal it results in crime and health issues.

[IMTDb]

The article talks about decriminalization, not legalization.

Decriminalization means that you are still not allowed to sell the product in a legitimate business. If you get caught with it, instead of going in front of a judge - possibly getting a criminal record and jail time - you will get a fine and no record. This lowers the priority for the police and prosecutor to track you down.

I think the US should really start thinking about decriminalizing the use of all drugs. It's crazy to destroy live for use of psychoactive substances. But legalization is a whole other story, the opioid crisis would look pale in comparison to the aftermath of selling high quality MDMA/Cocaine/Heroin with a doctors note.

[mcv]

They should probably be regulated, but treating them as a health issue seems like a far healthier idea than criminalising them. I believe Portugal did exactly that and got very good results.

It does require a lot of education and responsibility on the part of pharmacists and physicians, though. If I understand correctly, opiates are illegal in the US yet can be legally prescribed as part of painkillers, and with corporations pushing them hard, this has resulted in a bigger opiate addiction crisis than ever. That's clearly not the right way to do it.

[mymythisisthis]

Also, without access to these drugs people resort to sniffing glue, gas, and nail polish. Basically leading to brain damage.

[detritus]

One of my greatest regrets from my days [legally] selling Magic Mushrooms here in the UK many years ago was being on holiday when The Economist called to interview us (we were essentially 'market leaders'). As an Economist subscriber back then I would've leapt at the opportunity. As it was (if memory serves) my partners were reticent to talk to them, presuming they'd take a more moral stance than I would've expected, and that they took.

Oh well.

[LocalH]

DMT seems to have either cured or greatly minimized my ADHD. Psilocybin is very close to dimethyltryptamine. I fully support the destigmatization of psychedelics.

[htmk]

They're legal in Brazil, yet we don't have any treatment for depression based on them.

[gamblor956]

People that believe psycotropic drugs should be legalized should spend a night in LAs skid row.

By morning, they'll be very much in favor of keeping that shit as controlled as possible.

[rashkov]

Arguably, a significant percentage of skid row’s residents wouldn’t be there if they had the option of buying a clean, consistent dose from a pharmacy. Instead, they have to buy dangerously tainted drugs from professional criminals, and pay hugely inflated prices for it.

Highly recommend the book Chasing the Scream by Johann Hari if you’re interested in reading a persuasive version of this viewpoint.

[tempguy9999]

Could you post some more detail, say, what you saw there that made you come to this conclusion - thanks.

[tm1265]

Psychotropic or psychedelic? I very much doubt Psilocybin containing mushrooms are a problem on skid row compared to meth, heroin, and cocaine. They arent even addictive.