3 ms·

1) This is nothing compared to when Prozac® was introduced in the 90's. The idea that Prozac was going to cure Western mental health ills was quite popular and

1) This is nothing compared to when Prozac® was introduced in the 90's. The idea that Prozac was going to cure Western mental health ills was quite popular and viral. It was a dawn of a new age according to some. Now SSRI's are still used when appropriate, but no one thinks they are a cure all for depression. 2) There's a distortion at work here. Many people, including myself, thing that natural growing mushrooms or other plants containing hallucinogens should not be illegal. The problem is that it appears the only way to legalize at the current time is to force them into a doctor/patient therapeutic relationship. This is causing people to twist themselves into a knots trying to explain why this small step towards legalization should be allowed. Many exaggerations and false claims are being made. And who wants to always have to do their trip with a doctor sitting by their side? My hometown of Santa Cruz California is on the right track. Decriminalize for personal use and move on to more important issues. Santa Cruz decriminalizes magic mushrooms and other natural psychedelics, making it the third US city to take such a step https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/30/us/santa-cruz-mushrooms-psychedelics-trnd/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/30/us/santa-cruz-mushrooms-psych...

yboris 4y ago
Other cities have followed, for example Ann Arbor in Michigan - making mushrooms the lowest priority for police (effectively decriminalizing them). One thing stands out: Oregon decriminalized all drugs in 2020 - it feels like a not well-known fact. Another side-note: because mushroom spores do not contain the psychoactive ingredient, they are not illegal to ship across state lines, so it's entirely legal to purchase spores on the internet ("for microscopy use only"), and then use "Uncle Ben Tek" to grow your own mushrooms (this part is illegal).
- michaelwww 4y ago
  Thanks for the tip! I've been thinking about growing my own.
  - tstrimple 4y ago
    Mold is the most difficult part. Even being what I thought was very careful lead to nothing but fuzzy mold covering everything. Uncle Bens Tek helps a lot with the colonization phase, but the spawn to bulk always turned nasty for me.
pessimizer 4y ago
If only 2) were true; the process that pot went through didn't turn out that badly. My fear is that it's exactly the opposite, and medicalization will turn psychedelics into the new class of drugs that a medical degree anoints you to deal, like opioids. Still very illegal, but everyone is on them.
- michaelwww 4y ago
  That's what I was trying to say. They want to do it differently than they did with pot. With pot you could easily get a doctor to write a prescription and you used THC and CBD as needed in the comfort of your own home. With hallucinogens it sure seems like they want you to take them under the supervision of a therapist, who will guide your experience in a therapeutic direction. A few reasons come to mind for why they might be doing this - To reassure the legal authorities that the use of them is properly supervised and safe - To bring them to a wider audience, such as a depressed grandma who needs to accept her approaching death but would never take them on her own - For their own status, power and money needs. It worries me that once they achieve this, they will fight legalization for recreational use That's all fine, but don't tell me I can't take them for my own pleasure and purpose when I want, such as at a music festival, on a hike in the woods, or just because. I really don't need a therapist to guide my trip, thank you very much. Edit: Another thing, I've raised the issue on Twitter that doctors and therapists who used them in therapy settings should have some experience with hallucinogens. They shut me down really quick. It's the elephant in the room apparently. How are you going to guide someone when you have no experience with them?

yboris 4y ago

Other cities have followed, for example Ann Arbor in Michigan - making mushrooms the lowest priority for police (effectively decriminalizing them). One thing stands out: Oregon decriminalized all drugs in 2020 - it feels like a not well-known fact. Another side-note: because mushroom spores do not contain the psychoactive ingredient, they are not illegal to ship across state lines, so it's entirely legal to purchase spores on the internet ("for microscopy use only"), and then use "Uncle Ben Tek" to grow your own mushrooms (this part is illegal).

michaelwww 4y ago
Thanks for the tip! I've been thinking about growing my own.
- tstrimple 4y ago
  Mold is the most difficult part. Even being what I thought was very careful lead to nothing but fuzzy mold covering everything. Uncle Bens Tek helps a lot with the colonization phase, but the spawn to bulk always turned nasty for me.

pessimizer 4y ago

If only 2) were true; the process that pot went through didn't turn out that badly. My fear is that it's exactly the opposite, and medicalization will turn psychedelics into the new class of drugs that a medical degree anoints you to deal, like opioids. Still very illegal, but everyone is on them.

michaelwww 4y ago
That's what I was trying to say. They want to do it differently than they did with pot. With pot you could easily get a doctor to write a prescription and you used THC and CBD as needed in the comfort of your own home. With hallucinogens it sure seems like they want you to take them under the supervision of a therapist, who will guide your experience in a therapeutic direction. A few reasons come to mind for why they might be doing this - To reassure the legal authorities that the use of them is properly supervised and safe - To bring them to a wider audience, such as a depressed grandma who needs to accept her approaching death but would never take them on her own - For their own status, power and money needs. It worries me that once they achieve this, they will fight legalization for recreational use That's all fine, but don't tell me I can't take them for my own pleasure and purpose when I want, such as at a music festival, on a hike in the woods, or just because. I really don't need a therapist to guide my trip, thank you very much. Edit: Another thing, I've raised the issue on Twitter that doctors and therapists who used them in therapy settings should have some experience with hallucinogens. They shut me down really quick. It's the elephant in the room apparently. How are you going to guide someone when you have no experience with them?