Denver the first US city to decriminalise use of magic mushrooms

Voters have narrowly made D e nve r t h e f i r s t U S c i t y t o d e c r i mi n a l i s e p s i l o c yb i n – the psychoactive ingredient in “magic mushrooms”.

Decriminalisation led by a slim 51 per cent vote, accordi n g t o p r e l i m i n a r y f i g u r e s f r o m T u e s d a y ’s e l e c t i o n released by Denver’s Election Div i s i o n . As many a s 1 , 3 0 0 votes still remain to be counte d , b u t t h a t f i g u r e wa s n o t enough to swing the vote the other way, division sp okesman Alton Dillard said.

Final election results will be released on 16 May.

“I think today’s outcome really demonstrates that the conversation is going to continue and the world is ready for it,” said Cindy Sovine, chief political strategist for the campaign to decriminalise the drug.

“P s yc h e d e l i c s a r e a l r e a dy here. Now we can start to have the conversation about using them mindfully.”

O rg a n i s e r s t u r n e d t o t h e same strategy that marijuana activists used to decriminalise pot possession in the city in 2005. That move was followed by statewide legalisation in 2012. A number of other states have since broadly allowed marijuana sales and use by adults.

Organisers say their only goal in the mushroom measure is to keep people out of jail in Denver for using or posses sing the drug to cope with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and other conditions.

“We’ re not talking about legalisation,” Ms Sovine said. “We’ re talking about not putting people in jail.”

The initiative effectively decriminalises use or possession of psilocybin by people 21 and older, making it the lowest enforcement priority for police and prosecutors. It does not legalise psilocybin or permit its sale by cannabis businesses.

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

“This is not something you have to take ever y day,” the 33- year-old Denver native said. “It provides a lot of lasting benefits, weeks and months after one experience.”

Psilocybin has been federally outlawed since the 1960s when it was widely known as a recreational drug. The ban stymied medical research, but small studies in recent years have found the substance had positive effects on anxiety and depression for cancer patients.

Users have described seeing vivid colours and geometric patterns, as well as experiencing powerful spiritual connections and emotions.

Magic mushrooms have been used in religious practices for decades because of their powerful effect on perceptions and spiritual experiences. Those same effects have appealed to recreational users dating to the 1960s.