It’s time we look at drugs without an agenda scuffing the lenses. This uncomfortableness people feel about the unknown, is no way to create and enforce laws in any country. As someone who is on board for the legalization of all drugs, I understand that some are dangerous and more difficult to legalize than others. In saying that though, the legalization of psilocybin mushrooms could be the next big step in conscious drug use, and can reform a corrupted pill industry responsible for millions of deaths in this country.

So, why mushrooms? First of all, as aforementioned, no drugs should be made illegal base on an arbitrary uncomfortableness to them. There has always been some mystery to the fungus, and let’s admit, the 60’s did no favor to help promote its use. Seeing people trash public areas in the name of altered states of consciousness helped only to promote the agenda against its use. This was also do to the closed-minded nature of misunderstanding, but fortunately for us, we live in 2018.

Studies are now showing the increasing benefits of the ‘magic’ mushroom. The benefits range from: reducing anxiety, depression, PTSD symptoms, and greater cognitive function. For years now, it had been thought that psilocybin actually increased brain activity, but it actually does the opposite. What the chemical does is actually reduce brain activity. Think of it as like, giving your brain a break. This causes neural pathways that have not previously been able to connect, to now connect. The chemical itself is also very close to serotonin, which is the ‘happy’ drug our brains create.

The most impressive of all is psilocybin’s effects and success with drug rehabilitation. Marijuana had once claimed the title of ‘gateway’ drug, but psychedelics have also claimed rumors of addiction and ‘gateway’ potentials. Truth is, the drug reduces addiction tendencies. Because of this there has been a major push to reschedule psilocybin as a Schedule IV drug, like Xanax, rather than Schedule I, like methamphetamine.

States like Oregon and California are now pushing to legalize mushrooms medicinally. Denver is also seeking its legalization, already having reached 25% of its petition signatures (90,000). Psilocybin will most likely take the same route as marijuana, but hope is high for the shift to happen much quicker. In this way, marijuana is a gateway drug. It has set the stage for reasonable legislation on non-harmful drugs.