Magic mushrooms should be decriminalised

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/06/06/magic-mushrooms-should-be-decriminalised

50 39 7 years ago

oxide2• 7 years ago

I suffer from chronic migraines.

Psilocybin mushrooms, and other psychedelics are one of the few things that truly alleviate the suffering, which for me is now over 25 days a month. With my prescriptions covering half of that timeframe on a good month.

I might have shot myself if it wasn't for discovering this application for psychedelics after developing the condition.

For my sake, and for the sake of others suffering migraines, please educate yourself on this use case. Regardless of your opinion on psychedlic decriminalization, I absolutely implore you.

djakjxnanjak• 7 years ago

Out of curiosity, have you tried the triptan class of drugs? They are migraine pills that have some similarities to the tryptamines but are not psychoactive.

oxide2• 7 years ago

Yes. I get about 9 tablets a month covered by insurance. 9 tablets willl last me maybe 4 or 5 days. My doctor prescribes two different triptans as well as fioricet to help bridge the gap.

Imitrex has largely the same effect on my migraines as psilocybin.

CodeBiscuit• 7 years ago

if you don't mind my asking - how much do you doe? Do you microdose more often to prevent migraines or take them "as-and-when" required?

andrewstuart• 7 years ago

So should LSD and ectasy/MDMA, cocaine and heroin.

I don't use these drugs but it's a good thing for our society if they are available cheap and clean to people who want/need them.

They should be sold behind the counter from pharmacies and not allowed to be advertised, same as cigarettes in Australia.

When drugs are illegal it results in crime and health issues.

mcv• 7 years ago

They should probably be regulated, but treating them as a health issue seems like a far healthier idea than criminalising them. I believe Portugal did exactly that and got very good results.

It does require a lot of education and responsibility on the part of pharmacists and physicians, though. If I understand correctly, opiates are illegal in the US yet can be legally prescribed as part of painkillers, and with corporations pushing them hard, this has resulted in a bigger opiate addiction crisis than ever. That's clearly not the right way to do it.

TheOtherHobbes• 7 years ago

It's the right way to do it if you're more interested in making money than helping people.

Drugs aren't criminalised to help addicts. Drugs are criminalised to maximise profits. The US and British establishments have centuries-old links to the drug trade, the jail trade, and the "legal" opiate trade, and decriminalisation would create significant financial inconvenience.

This doubtless sounds wildly implausible to anyone unfamiliar with the evidence. But there's ample historical record of involvement, either direct or strongly implied - from the days of the Opium Wars, to the curious history of cocaine smuggling during Iran-Contra, to the fact that opium production increased threefold after the US invasion of Afghanistan.

IMTDb• 7 years ago

The article talks about decriminalization, not legalization.

Decriminalization means that you are still not allowed to sell the product in a legitimate business. If you get caught with it, instead of going in front of a judge - possibly getting a criminal record and jail time - you will get a fine and no record. This lowers the priority for the police and prosecutor to track you down.

I think the US should really start thinking about decriminalizing the use of all drugs. It's crazy to destroy live for use of psychoactive substances. But legalization is a whole other story, the opioid crisis would look pale in comparison to the aftermath of selling high quality MDMA/Cocaine/Heroin with a doctors note.

jmalkin• 7 years ago

I believe it's Portugal that has very successfully triaged decriminalisation of many or all drugs

tathougies9• 7 years ago

It's crazy to destroy live for use of psychoactive substances

No, it's not. Those who purchase drugs directly fund illegal gangs and cartels, who kill, maim, and torture people. Over the course of years of drug use, drug users have likely funded dozens of murders, mutilations, wars, etc, for nothing other than personal pleasure.

It's fine to think drugs should be decriminalized, but to claim it's a victimless crime or isn't destructive, is simply ignoring reality.

mymythisisthis• 7 years ago

Also, without access to these drugs people resort to sniffing glue, gas, and nail polish. Basically leading to brain damage.

tathougies9• 7 years ago

Meh, one dose of LSD can lead to permanent brain damage too, so..

dmitryminkovsky• 7 years ago

I wish people would stop calling them magic mushrooms. The forces against legalization take every opportunity to refer to "magic mushrooms." There is nothing magical about them. Hallucinogens are awesome chemicals and can affect profound positive and negatives effects on us. They should be treated with care and afforded serious dignity, especially in calls for legalization.

detritus• 7 years ago

One of my greatest regrets from my days [legally] selling Magic Mushrooms here in the UK many years ago was being on holiday when The Economist called to interview us (we were essentially 'market leaders'). As an Economist subscriber back then I would've leapt at the opportunity. As it was (if memory serves) my partners were reticent to talk to them, presuming they'd take a more moral stance than I would've expected, and that they took.

Oh well.

gamblor9564• 7 years ago

People that believe psycotropic drugs should be legalized should spend a night in LAs skid row.

By morning, they'll be very much in favor of keeping that shit as controlled as possible.

tempguy99993• 7 years ago

Could you post some more detail, say, what you saw there that made you come to this conclusion - thanks.

gamblor9564• 7 years ago

A lot of its NSFW so I won't try to access any of it here, but: - drug addicts attempting to eat themselves, trash, or feces - drug addicts prostituting themselves for a hit - drug addicts randomly attacking passers by, just case - drug addicts getting hit by cars after randomly running into the street - drug addicts with leprosy, full-body scabs, necrotic flesh, exposed bone.

And that was just after volunteering for a week. A co-worker worked with AmeriCorps for a year in Skid Row and during that time, one of the social workers she worked with lost their leg to gangrene after getting an infection on Skid Row from a stray needle. A coworker of hers was beaten into a coma by a drug addict they were trying to help.

tm1265• 7 years ago

Psychotropic or psychedelic? I very much doubt Psilocybin containing mushrooms are a problem on skid row compared to meth, heroin, and cocaine. They arent even addictive.

gamblor9564• 7 years ago

The problem isn't the addictiveness, the problem is the effect on neural chemistry.

Psychelic compounds are just as bad to someone whose brain has been eaten away from psychotropic drugs or narcotics, and are known to trigger schizophrenia-family of disorders in individuals with latent susceptibility. Marijuana, for example, is only mildly psychotropic but triggers schizophrenic episodes in individuals with schizophrenia...

rashkov• 7 years ago

Arguably, a significant percentage of skid row’s residents wouldn’t be there if they had the option of buying a clean, consistent dose from a pharmacy. Instead, they have to buy dangerously tainted drugs from professional criminals, and pay hugely inflated prices for it.

Highly recommend the book Chasing the Scream by Johann Hari if you’re interested in reading a persuasive version of this viewpoint.

gamblor9564• 7 years ago

This isn't even remotely true. There are plenty of homeless people in Skid Row that are there even though their drug of choice is alcohol, available cheap from the nearest liquor store, grocery, etc.

I've read Chasing the Scream and it's not a useful viewpoint on this subject.

LocalH2• 7 years ago

DMT seems to have either cured or greatly minimized my ADHD. Psilocybin is very close to dimethyltryptamine. I fully support the destigmatization of psychedelics.

htmk4• 7 years ago

They're legal in Brazil, yet we don't have any treatment for depression based on them.

Magic mushrooms should be decriminalised

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