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Robbins said part of that catching up includes understanding the respect users need to show the medication. “Psilocybin mushrooms are a medicine that’s meant to help a person when they’re experiencing something difficult,” she said. “We have to give them as much respect and honor as we can because [from an Indigenous perspective] these medicines have spirits with them; they’re the Holy People and we’re asking them for help.” A lesson from marijuana Shope said the state legislature learned a lot from legalizing medical and recreational marijuana use over the years. That includes the difficulty of adjusting voter-approved initiatives. “Mainly, when the voters pass something, the legislature really can’t change anything,” he said. Mozzell agreed. “Marijuana has been a nuclear bomb that has gone off in mental health because we cannot regulate it,” he said. A handful of pot-related bills typically go through the House and Senate each year, but few advance to the governor’s desk. Shope said this includes bills meant to better regulate testing of marijuana products for public consumption. “Even small fixes like that require three- quarters vote and [can] only further the intent of the law,” he said. “It’s as impossible as can be, which is why you’re probably not going to see any changes even with acknowledgment of those in and outside the industry.” Shope’s 15-page bill legalizing medicinal magic mushrooms outlines thorough training protocol, licensure and regulations on use of mushrooms in a medical setting. Most notably, it limits patients to consuming psilocybin only at a licensed psychedelic-assisted therapy center and only under the supervision of a staff member or medical director. “It does not legalize the use of psilocybin outside of a clinic, and only under the care of a doctor,” said Mozzell, who assisted in drafting the original version of the bill. “It does not decriminalize psilocybin, and it doesn’t allow microdosing.” For Shope, the bill emphasizes the medical purposes of psilocybin, not the recreational ones. “What we’re talking about here is truly medicinal in its purest sense,” Shope said.
“You have to be monitored when you’re having a dose of psilocybin. It’s entirely clinical at this point in time.” With Oregon and Colorado recently legalizing psychedelics like mushrooms, Shope and Mozzell remain optimistic Arizona could follow suit. “It is coming. Psychedelics are coming just like marijuana to every state in 10 years,” Mozzell said. “We’ll see them legalized or decriminalized and we have to do it in a way that protects the citizens of Arizona against
When it comes to eating magic mush- rooms, most Maricopans say, “No way.” In a February InMaricopa.com poll of 400 Maricopa residents, more than half opposed any efforts to legalize mush- rooms, even in a medical setting. Roughly 1 in 6 said they would like to see the fungus be approved for medicinal use only, like a new take on Arizona’s famous Proposition 203 in 2010. That voter initiative legalized cannabis for medical use only, approved by 50% of the state population, a decade before recreational pot became legal. About one-third of Maricopans said shrooms should be legal for recreational use. Should mushrooms be legal?
Paired with the songs and prayers led by medicine practitioners in ceremonies, the use of psychedelics helps correct a physical, mental or spiritual imbalance in the patient. “Ceremonies are created because we’re opening ourselves up for healing and the medicine people are there to sing certain songs and say specific prayers because they’re navigating us,” she said. “They are there to help us get where we need to go with the medicine and then bring us back.” “Psychedelics are coming just like marijuana to every state in 10 years.” JOSH MOZZELL, PRESIDENT, PSYCHEDELIC ASSOCIATION OF ARIZONA
“What we’re talking about here is truly medicinal in its purest sense. You have to be monitored when you’re having
Yes, let me use shrooms anytime 33% Yes, but only for medicinal use 16%
No, don’t Oregon my Arizona 51%
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a dose of psilocybin.” T.J. SHOPE, ARIZONA STATE SENATOR
the potential risks.” Path to legalization
WHAT TREATS WHAT
Shope introduced the bill Feb. 5 with a first reading on the Senate floor and it swiftly moved through the Health and Human Services Committee and additional Senate readings. The bill has so far passed the Senate with bipartisan support and cleared health committees in both chambers. Opposing votes came from Shope’s party mates Sen. Anthony Kern and Rep. Barbara Parker. As of mid-March, the bill has yet to pass the House. If it clears that hurdle, it can be sent to the governor’s desk for her autograph or veto stamp. Mozzell is gunning for Gov. Katie Hobbs’ signature. Full-throated Democratic support of Shope’s bill in the state legislature is a good sign. “I’m just hoping we can get it out of the House and to the governor’s desk soon,” Mozzell said. “Then we can start getting the advisory board together, creating the training, getting the public educated.”
MDMA-assisted therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and social anxiety. Mescaline: This is the main component found in peyote, a cactus native to Mexico and the American Southwest that binds to serotonin receptors in the brain. Some research has shown mescaline-assisted therapy is effective for drug and alcohol addiction and depression treatment. DMT: This ingredient is found in ayahuasca, a medicinal plant found in Central and South America, creating a quick and short- lived experience described by many as religious. The drug has undergone studies in treatment for depression and Alzheimer’s disease.
In the U.S., psychedelic- assisted therapy took off in the mid-20th century after the advent of LSD. However, such efforts were quickly put to bed with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which effectively rendered these drugs illegal with no “accepted medical use” by the DEA. Here’s a look at a few psychedelics undergoing studies for treating various mental illnesses: Ketamine: This synthetic drug affects the glutamate neurotransmitter, which scientists believe may be responsible for mood regulation. Created as an anesthetic in the 1960s,
ketamine only recently gained FDA approval for treatment-resistant depression.
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MDMA: Better known
by its street names, ecstasy and molly, this is a popular drug at raves and parties. The drug releases neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, which can affect emotions, memory and attention. Researchers have spent the last decade using
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InMaricopa.com | April 2024
April 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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