Psilocybin mushrooms took away my headaches

Re: “It’s high time to decriminalize magic mushrooms,” Feb. 21 commentary

I have been following with great interest the movement to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms. For the past 35 years I have suffered from “cluster headache,” sometimes described as the worst pain known to man. They are also called suicide headaches because people who experience cluster headache do sometimes end their lives as the only remedy to eliminate the pain.

Several years ago, having grown tired of the ineffective cocktail of “legal” drugs I took and in an attempt to manage my way through a headache cycle, I made the decision to try mushrooms. It was a desperate move supported by considerable anecdotal evidence that psilocybin could end a cluster headache cycle.

I had never before considered taking a psychedelic drug. As I sat in my chair, crying from the pain in my head, praying to God to end the misery, I took my first dose of mushrooms. A little over 30 minutes later, miraculously the unbearable pain subsided, and after the effects of the drug wore off, I was able to get the first full night of sleep I had experienced in weeks. Psilocybin was a miracle for me. It saved my family from the misery of watching me withdraw from them while I went through headache cycles that would last for weeks. It may have saved my life.

Please don’t ignore the potential life-changing impacts the decriminalization of this drug might have for untold numbers of people.

Doug Ideker, Littleton

The Borger, Texas, climate?

Re: “Global warming could mean big change in how cities feel,” Feb. 13 news story

I moved to Colorado because of the weather, the camping and the almost unlimited chances for wilderness adventures. I had no idea that progressively, through my decades-long stint here, all of those things would become less and less inviting because of climate change.

Every year, the snowpack declines, the fire bans keep me away from the campsites and more and more of the wilderness that I love spends time in flames. According to a website set up by ecologist Matt Fitzpatrick, Denver will soon feel like Borger, Texas.

There is a reason I moved here and not to Texas. I love it here; I love the mountains, the craft brews and the endless trails. I met my husband here. My cousins moved here, my job is here, my friends are here. But the state, like so many others, is becoming uncomfortable and that is only a few steps away from unlivable. C’mon, Colorado, don’t make me leave; I really don’t want to live in Montana!

We recently elected one of the most pro- conservation state governments in our history. We can actually make a difference in our lifetime. Let’s not waste this opportunity, let’s become a leader and an innovator that not only saves our precious natural resources for generations to come, but also generates new ideas and technologies that might change the world for the better.

Sofia Baird, Erie

A different take on TV

Why should there not be a variety of opinions in broadcasting? Denver stations have become so liberal and biased in their reporting. I am an independent, and I notice how much it has leaned to the left! That’s not a very balanced job, if you ask me. I’m not sure anyone cares about getting both sides of an issue anymore. That’s sad.

Gwen Alton, Longmont

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