Denver May Become First City in U.S. to Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms

Denver will again live up to its name as the “Mile High City” if city voters pass a measure in May which would decriminalize magic mushrooms.

An advocacy campaign called “Decriminalize Denver” recently collected nearly 9,500 signatures for a May ballot initiative seeking to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms in the city. The initiative needed 4,726 verified signatures from city voters to make the ballot.

If the measure passes, Denver will become the first city in the U.S. to decriminalize the psychedelic drug.

Although the measure would not make the use or sale of magic mushrooms legal in Colorado’s capital city, it would treat cases involving possession of the drug as low priority.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) notes that psychedelic mushrooms are listed as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning that they are very likely to be abused and have no documented medical use.

Advocates are also trying to decriminalize the drug in other states. Organizers in Oregon are already working to get enough signatures for the issue to appear on the state ballot for the 2020 election.