Skiing On Shrooms? Aspen Might Get The Chance To Decriminalize Psychedelics Soon

Colorado voters will face the decision of either supporting or rejecting a psychedelics legalization project in this November’s ballot vote. In the meantime, several cities are making progress towards a more modest goal: decriminalization. Last week, it was Aspen’s turn. 

The city’s initiative, titled “Right To Heal,” champions the local decriminalization of “plant medicines” including psilocybin, psilocin, ayahuasca, ibogaine, DMT and mescaline that perform a therapeutic function, for people 21 and over.

In order to qualify for March 2023’s ballot in Aspen, the initiative must gather at least 925 signatures from registered voters by October 8, 2022.

Currently in the stage of collecting signatures, the campaign mentions other US cities where ballots allowing the use of entheogenic plants have passed: Oregon, Washington DC, Denver, Oakland, Santa Cruz, Cambridge, Somerville and Seattle. The campaign recalls that local law enforcement, healthcare providers and community stakeholders were consulted for input and the acceptance of the proposed legislation.

One of its proposals is that none of the city’s departments, agencies, boards, commissions, officers or employees use local resources to enforce laws imposing criminal penalties for the individual possession and use of any of the psychedelics listed.

It further clarifies that commercialization of these substances is not contemplated within the “personal possession” reach, but sharing among adults is. 

The measure would also create an advisory board towards educating people on psychedelics’ safe use for therapeutic purposes and recommending best practices for law enforcement in these cases.

The board would present a report within six months with details on their findings and recommendations to the City Council, after which the Advisory Committee would “study and track the outcomes of this article and shall publish its findings and recommendations every twelve months.”

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay.