Proposition 122 Q&A: Oct. 24

ON Monday, Oct. 24 from 3-5 p.m., there will be an informal question and answer session at the Alamosa Rec Center for one of the midterm ballot measures: Proposition 122, Access to Natural Psychedelic Substances. Representatives of the measure, the Natural Medicine Health Act, or NMHA, will be there to answer questions. 

Proposition 122, if passed, would decriminalize personal use, possession, cultivation, and sharing of psilocybin-containing mushrooms. It won’t decriminalize the sale of psilocybin. It would also allow for licensed treatment centers to open throughout the state. Psilocybin-containing mushrooms have been sought after for their studied therapeutic effects to treat anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and terminal illness anxiety. 

Due to psilocybin’s classification as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance, it remains federally illegal. However, in 2019, Denver was the first city in the U.S. to decriminalize psilocybin-containing mushrooms. Since then, cities such as Ann Arbor, MI, Oakland and Santa Cruz, CA, Seattle, WA, Washington, D.C., and the entire state of Oregon have made pushes for psychedelic decriminalization. The Department of Regulatory Agencies will oversee the program. 

The measure would also allow the state to expand the decriminalization and treatment center inventory to three other substances: dimethyltryptamine, or DMT; Ibogaine; and Mescaline. DMT is a profound psychedelic substance that is endogenous to many plants. DMT is one of the substances used in Ayahuasca. Ibogaine is found in Iboga trees and their roots, and has been studied for its anti-addictive treatments. Mescaline is a psychedelic alkaloid found in Peyote and San Pedro cacti.  

Ballots have been sent out and November’s election is quickly approaching. This informational session could help voters make a decision on how to vote on this ballot issue.