Oakland OKs use of psilocybin ‘shrooms’

OAKLAND — Using psilocybin mushrooms — also known as “magic mushrooms” — as well as ayahuasca and peyote will now be allowed in Oakland, the second city in the country to give “shrooms” the OK.

City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a resolution barring police from enforcing laws banning the use of “entheogenic” — or psychoactive — plants, which include psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, peyote and others. Though Oakland police rarely come across the substances, councilman Noel Gallo brought forward the resolution in an effort to “empower communities to share knowledge and continue building an aboveground infrastructure around entheogens,” he said in the proposal.

Dozens of supporters of the effort packed City Hall, testifying during the public comment portion of the meeting on the benefits of using entheogenics.

The proposed resolution stems from a movement at the state level to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms, which suffered a setback when a measure to accomplish that goal didn’t make it to California’s 2018 ballot. Activists are gathering signatures now to put a measure on the Oregon state ballot next year to legalize the medical use of psilocybin.

Part of the movement’s momentum comes from a study released by Johns Hopkins University last year that suggested psilocybin could be used to treat depression and anxiety and even help people quit smoking, according to the New York Times. Bestselling author and Berkeley resident Michael Pollan’s recent book, “How to Change Your Mind,” makes the case that psychedelic drugs can be effective therapy tools, especially for people trying to recover from drug addiction.