Advocacy Group Calls On Detroit Voters To Approve Plant-Based Medicine Decrim Proposal

The People For Healthy Choices, a community-based advocacy group is calling on Detroiters to vote yes on Proposal E to decriminalize plant-based medicine. 

According to Michigan law, cannabis, psilocybin and other plant-based medicines are currently listed as Schedule 1 controlled substances, meaning you can be arrested and face massive fines and extensive jail time for possession of these natural plants.

This November, Detroiters have a chance to change that.

Gateway To Criminal Justice System

The advocacy group is informing voters about the impact Proposal E could have on Detroit residents, explaining that the schedule 1 designation has become a 

gateway to the criminal justice system. Nearly 80% of people incarcerated in federal prison and 60% in state prisons for drug offenses are Black or Latino. 

The People For Healthy Choices also pointed out that the current laws are contrary to a growing body of research confirming that plant-based medicine offers relief for sufferers of anxiety, depression, PTSD and many other forms of mental health issues.

Plant medicines have been used for healing purposes by indigenous cultures for thousands of years and there is mounting evidence that shows their ability to integrate with modern addiction therapy. With the shocking rise of deaths related to opioid addiction and overdose in the country, new therapies for treating addictions are more needed than ever. 

Plants like psilocybin, ayahuasca and particularly ibogaine, have demonstrated unprecedented results for those who have used them as a tool on their recovery journey. Indeed studies have been so promising that the FDA has granted breakthrough therapy designation for psilocybin.

US laws make it hard for people to stay out of jail, heal from addictions and naturally improve mental illness, pointed out the group that is urging Detroiters to make healing easier and more successful by saying yes and decriminalizing plant-based medicine. 

Photo: Courtesy of Katya Austin on Unsplash