Reaffirming the progressive discourse in politics in Rhode Island – an instance that befits the history of the state – a House Committee heard the H 5923 Bill to decriminalize psilocybin, meaning consumers could be free to grow their psychedelic mushrooms at home for personal use, and would not face prosecution or penalties in the state.
“The research is clear. Psilocybin is incredibly effective in treating C-PTSD, treatment-resistant depression and anxiety disorders. Old taboos be gone—Rhode Islanders deserve access.”
– Representative Brandon Potter (D).
This also allows researchers and psychedelic facilitators to pursue research and first-hand experiences without fear of falling on the wrong side of the law, possibly losing their practitioner licenses, and/or being imprisoned.
Psilocybin: How Do Hallucinogenic Substances Help?
Psilocybin is popularly known to the layperson as psychedelic mushrooms or magic mushrooms because of the altered reality states, i.e., hallucinations experienced after consuming it.
But psilocybin is more correctly the active compound identified within certain mushroom species. The substance is readily found in the mushroom psilocybe mexicana and has shown considerable benefits in medical applications.
Consumers and facilitators state that in an altered state of consciousness, positive affirmations can be introduced into the user’s conscious viewpoint and subconscious mindset. Often, the conversation that can be had – where the consumer’s habitual, subjective resistance is chemically and psychologically softened – instills a sense of safety and well-being in the person.
Anxiety and depression do the opposite daily, creating strong feelings of fear and insecurity and deprecating habits of thoughts, spoken words, and actions. The person does it to themselves, often leading to a strong, rooted belief that they cannot move past their trauma and hopelessness.
Hallucinations, while the body feels relaxed, joyful, and even energetic or elated, create a subjective experience where reality is shown to be different from their regular, problematic life experience. This can negate the rootedness of negative attitudes and preconceptions of the self by allowing the subjective mind to access the power of self-belief in a joyful, curious mindset. This is of great value and therapeutic by definition.
A person may come out of the psychedelic experience with a sustaining sense of self-love, even a newfound self-worth, remembering that they thought, spoke, and believed positive self-affirming truths about themselves. And further, the experience feels real in real-time. This opens the door to self-realization: the greater potential for acknowledging unhealthy behavior patterns, discouraging themselves from repeating behaviors, and the chemical redirection of their brain’s mental pathways toward newer thoughts and habits that can be successfully patterned.
For communities in the United States and the world, progressive standpoints and discussions pave the way for more transparent discussions backed by openly conducted and clinically sound scientific evidence. Last year, by ballot vote, Colorado legalized the use of psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, and ibogaine under the supervision of licensed facilitators while permitting citizens to grow and share mushrooms for personal use.
This is good news out of Denver: decriminalizing psilocybin amplifies and speeds up the discussion in other states. Oregon, Washington, and New York followed later in 2022, with their lawmakers tabling bills to decriminalize the use of psychedelic mushrooms. In total, nineteen states have had bills introduced in their political assemblies.
The Rhode Island lawmakers have found themselves at a hinge point in American and world history regarding drug use and its relationship with law enforcement and the now-obvious fact of the failed “war on drugs.”
The War On Drugs: A Very Brief Summary
“In the last 35 years, the US has spent $500bn attempting to reduce the availability and purity, and increase the price, of illicit drugs.” – TheGuardian.com
That statistic refers more closely to the illicit trade of cocaine, but the mention of federal funds should get your attention. It has been an unwinnable war that lawmakers in many states consider a massive waste of taxpayer money.
Wrongful prosecutions, race-based heuristics for searching and holding drug offenders, and jail and prison overflow on possession charges. At its height, the African-American and Hispanic/Latino communities expressed their rage at the disproportionately high rates of assumed wrongdoing, prosecutions, and incarceration of youth and adults.
“Here’s to unwinding decades of restrictive and wrongheaded drug policy!” – Senator Meghan Kallman (D).
Rhode Island: Psychedelic Mushrooms, Recreational And Legal Medical Consumption
This is important to the average citizen, the interested person desiring to explore reality differently, conscious recreational users, medical patients, and especially veterans suffering from post-war syndromes.
In Rhode Island specifically, psychedelic micro-dosing has been actively promoted for therapeutic applications, both in medical cases and for recreational exploration, called guided psychedelic journeys.
In addition to its efficacy in treating illnesses mentioned earlier by Rep. Brandon Potter, researchers agree that it can be a successful treatment for anxiety and/or depression in patients with advanced cancer! This is a priority concern in the United States, where over six hundred thousand deaths were expected from cancer in 2021 alone!
Considering the wide field of treatable diseases, this is something essential to investigate thoroughly. Specifically, it is essential for patients seeking legal medical treatments for debilitating diseases and their symptoms, who deserve the scientific community’s full and close attention.
“Psilocybin is not addictive,” Kallman said. “It’s naturally occurring and people have been using it recreationally and medicinally for thousands of years.”
Notably, there is a growing interest worldwide for naturally occurring, non-addiction-causing treatments derived from plants and fungi. The number of prescription drug deaths from opioid overdose is startlingly and compels us to seek out safer alternatives!
This is also a big, positive step toward liberty for all, freedom to choose, access to information, and the right to explore consciousness as humans on Earth.
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