Salem, Massachusetts has decriminalised psilocybin, the psychoactive compound of magic mushrooms.
The bill called An Act Relative to Plant Medicine passed yesterday and will categorise growing, transporting and possessing psilocybin as the “lowest law enforcement priority for the city of Salem”.
Salem follows other Massachusetts communities such as Cambridge and Somerville in adopting such a measure.
They also follow the states of Oregon and Colorado who have legalised psilocybin.
Speaking to WickedLocal.com Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller voiced his support for the bill from a health perspective and that psychedelics are already a low priority for his department.
Miller went on to say how psilocybin could be useful in treating the opioid crisis “the indications that psilocybin could be helpful for opiate addiction is something that should not be ignored. We lose about 20 people in Salem a year to opioid overdose”.
The bill was petitioned for by Bay Staters for Natural Medicines, a grassroots organisation that aims to promote access to psychedelic plants.
Unlike other psychedelic drugs that have to be produced chemically, psilocybin can be found on all continents apart from Antarctica, growing naturally in the wild.
Massachusetts has also seen a proposed bill for MDMA therapy presented by the Republican Nicholas Boldyga.
The bill is also aiming to limit the cost of access to MDMA related therapy after questions have been raised about the price in Australia for similar treatment.
The price of psilocybin treatment in Oregon has also raised questions due to the high cost.
Psilocybin legalisation is a hot topic around the world currently with the UK House of Commons debating access to the drug and Australia recently legalising access to both psilocybin and MDMA for therapeutic purposes.
The drug has been shown in studies to have positive effects on people suffering from depression and addiction issues.
