The measure would make the possession and use of hallucinogenic mushrooms the lowest priority for law enforcement

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Residents of Denver were voting on Tuesday on whether to make the city the first in the US to decriminalise “magic mushrooms”.

The referendum on the ballot in local elections set to produce a result late in the evening would block the city from using its resources to enforce criminal penalties for the use of psilocybin, the psychoactive substance in hallucinogenic mushrooms.

It’s the latest envelope-pushing drug policy considered in the progressive “Mile High” city, so named for its proximity to the Rocky Mountains, where citizens decriminalized marijuana possession back in 2005.

“Nobody should be penalised for this substance,” said Kevin Matthews, director of the Decriminalise Denver campaign. “One arrest is too many. No person deserves this kind of treatment for a substance this safe.”

Backers of the mushroom measure say the drug can be used to help with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and other conditions.

“This is not something you have to take every day,” Matthews said. “It provides a lot of lasting benefits, weeks and months after one experience.”

If the initiative passes, the personal possession and use of mushrooms by people at least 21 years old would be declared the lowest priority for law enforcement. The substance would remain illegal and could not be legally sold in licensed cannabis dispensaries or anywhere else.

Organisers collected more than 8,000 signatures to get on the ballot, the third time they had attempted to put the proposal up for a vote.

Denver mayor Michael Hancock and district attorney Beth McCann oppose the proposal, though there has been little organised opposition.

Mushrooms, like marijuana, heroin and ecstasy, are classified as a schedule I illegal drug under federal law.

Magic mushrooms, long used in religious practices, were a feature of the 1960s counterculture. Users describe seeing vivid colors and experiencing powerful emotions.

Some researchers warn that without proper medical supervision, psilocybin can cause paranoia and anxiety. But small research studies have suggested it can help treat anxiety and depression in, for example, cancer patients.

A California proposal to decriminalise psilocybin failed to qualify for the ballot last year. Activists in Oregon are attempting to get a similar measure on the ballot next year.