Denver, Colorado, is now the first city in the U.S. to make the use and possession of psychedelic mushrooms legal.
The decision was made by a public vote that was led by a slim 50.6% in favour of the legalisation of the drug. 49.4% of the votes were against the legalisation according to the Denver Post.
It was the first public vote on magic mushrooms to take place in the U.S. which asked votes if the personal use of the drug should be Denver’s ‘lowest law enforcement priority’. Although selling or possessing mushrooms will still technically be illegal, restrictions will be drastically lowered for the personal use of adults 21 and over.
The chief political strategist for the campaign, Cindy Sovine, has previously said “We’re not talking about the legalisation of the drug, we’re talking about not putting people in jail”.
Magic mushrooms are a psychedelic drug that contains a chemical called psilocybin, which under the U.S. federal law is classed in the same group as heroin and LSD.
Psilocybin has been illegal since the 1960s across all states having ‘no medical benefits’, however, recent research in the past ten years has shown that the drug has positive effects for people suffering from anxiety, depression and cancer patients.
By Liv West