Denver set to vote on use of magic mushrooms

Voters were last night on the brink of making Denver the first US city to decriminalise psilocybin – the psychoactive substance in “magic mushrooms” – and add a new chapter to the city’s role in shaping wider drug policy.

A citizen initiative on the ballot has followed the same tack taken by marijuana activists to decriminalise pot possession in 2005 in the city. The move was followed by statewide legalisation in 2012. A number of other states followed and broadly allow marijuana use. Psilocybin campaign organisers say their only goal is to keep people out of jail for using or possessing the drug to cope with depression and post-traumatic stress.

Kevin Matthews, director of the Decriminalise Denver campaign, said psilocybin has helped him deal with depression for years.