Having already helped spark the movement behind the legalization of marijuana, the city of Denver is now officially the first in the United States to decriminalize magic mushrooms.
Initiative 301 reportedly passed by a narrow margin, which despite not legalizing the psychedelics has made the enforcement of its prohibition the “lowest law-enforcement priority” in the city. Additionally, the ordinance bars the city from imposing criminal penalties on adults found in possession of the drug, though it does not apply to the sale of the psilocybin mushrooms.
Meanwhile, along with marijuana, psilocybin remains a federal Schedule I drug, which defined by the federal government are drugs that have no medicinal value and a high potential for abuse. With that said, proponents of its decriminalization argue that not only is psilocybin generally safe and nonaddictive, but that it also can be used to help treat addiction and depression.
All the same, critics are concerned that the decriminalization effort will only attract more drug users to the city, one that’s recognized for decriminalizing marijuana back in 2005, seven years before Colorado became the first state in the U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana.