ANN ARBOR, MI – A local group hoping to decriminalize “magic” mushrooms and other psychedelic drugs has drafted a resolution for City Council to consider.

Decriminalize Nature Ann Arbor, also known as DNA2, recently posted a 722-word resolution on its website and is asking council to take it up.

So far, no council members are jumping at the chance to sponsor the resolution and bring it to the table, though it has generated some initial discussions.

Several council members said they have no plans to sponsor such a resolution, at least not any time soon.

The text reads like lyrics the rock band Jefferson Airplane would have written, said Council Member Jane Lumm, I-2nd Ward, who views the initiative as coming “from folks who want to bring back the good-old hippie days” of the 1960s and ‘70s.

She recalled the 1967 song “White Rabbit,” which included these lines:

One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small

And the ones that mother gives you don't do anything at all

Go ask Alice when she’s 10 feet tall

The resolution defines “entheogenic plants” as both plants and fungi that contain indoleamines, tryptamines and phenethylamines that can benefit psychological and physical wellness or support and enhance religious/spiritual practices.

Essentially, plants and fungi ingested to produce an altered state of consciousness.

That includes psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, ayahuasca, mescaline, ibogaine and hundreds of other plants, said DNA2 Executive Director Julie Barron, a local therapist who practices psychedelic-integration therapy.

Using such naturally occurring substances “can catalyze profound experiences of personal and spiritual growth” and help treat drug and alcohol addiction, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, grief, cluster headaches and other debilitating conditions, the resolution states.

“Practices with entheogenic plants have long existed and have been considered to be sacred to human cultures and interrelationships with nature for thousands of years,” it states, adding people who use them to improve their health and wellbeing fear arrest and prosecution.

The resolution would prohibit city resources from being used to investigate, detain, arrest or prosecute people for using entheogenic plants.

It also would make investigating or arresting people for planting, cultivating, possessing, purchasing, transporting, distributing or engaging in practices with entheogenic plants or plant compounds on the federal Schedule 1 illegal drug list the city’s “lowest law enforcement priority.”

It would further ask the Washtenaw County prosecutor and state and federal authorities to not investigate or prosecute people for entheogenic plants in Ann Arbor.

The resolution would not authorize or enable commercial sales or manufacturing of the substances, possessing or distributing them in schools, driving under the influence or public disturbances.

Read the full text.

So far, Anne Bannister is the only council member who has shown support, Barron said, indicating she and her group are still reaching out to council members.

Bannister, D-1st Ward, said she’s starting to hear more about the campaign and movement on the issue in other states, but she has no plans to sponsor a resolution this year. It’s a new concept and a lot more discussion is needed, she said.

“But I think that for therapeutic or guided or religious ceremonies, we may start there as sort of a front line for what some people may find beneficial in their health care or religious/spiritual work,” she said.

“So, yes, it’s being talked about. We’ve got a lot on our plate this year, so it may not be at the top of the list of priorities, but that’s where we’re at.”

Council Member Jack Eaton, D-4th Ward, said he recognizes the clinical, therapeutic and spiritual value of the plants and fungi in question, but he doesn’t support removing law enforcement from the equation without assurances the use of psychedelics would be done under proper guidance.

“I think that it really has to start with the federal government taking it off from the Schedule 1 list of drugs,” he said, suggesting it could then be made legal for medical, psychological and spiritual uses.

“I’m not an expert in this realm,” Eaton added. “I’m aware of a lot of the research that’s been done, but I don’t have a really good grasp of how we could deregulate this and not end up right back in the late ‘60s.”

If council isn’t willing to approve the resolution, Barron said she hopes council will at least agree to place a proposal on the ballot to let Ann Arbor voters decide.

If council isn’t willing to act, she said, her group may collect signatures to place a proposal on the ballot.

Her work as a therapist involves helping people who’ve had psychedelic experiences process them and put lessons learned and healing into their everyday lives, she said.

Barron complains there are poisonous plants and fungi for which there are no rules and those can kill people, yet ones that have healing powers are still illegal.

“We’re just trying to rectify that,” she said, arguing ancient traditions and science are on her group’s side.

As for how legal use of psychedelics could be regulated, she said, she wouldn’t want it restricted to only under the guidance of a therapist, as that could mean they’re only available to people who can afford them or follow a therapist’s belief systems and practices.

“The therapist’s office is a lovely place for it, but it’s not the only place,” she said.

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