The Oregon Attorney General has approved the wording of a medical psilocybin ballot initiative, which is the final step before supporters can collect signatures to place the issue on the 2020 ballot, Marijuana Moment reports.
No U.S. state has attempted yet to reclassify psilocybin, one of the mind-altering chemicals in “magic” mushrooms, as medicine. If the Oregon Psilocybin Society (OPS) is able to collect the 140,000 signatures necessary to get the measure on the ballot, Oregon will be the first.
“We’re excited to gather signatures in support of establishing a community-based service framework, in which licensed providers, along with licensed producers of psilocybin mushrooms, can blaze new trails in Oregon in accordance with evolving practice standards.” — Tom Eckert, OPS co-founder, via a press release
There is a fair and growing body of evidence that supports the use of psilocybin in the fight against depression, addiction, and other conditions. Research shows that psilocybin encourages the formation of new brain cells in a process known as “neurogenesis,” among other effects.
Psilocybin is classified, like cannabis, as Schedule I by the federal government, which means that research into the therapeutic benefits of mushrooms containing the chemical is decades behind where it should be.
Describing a battle familiar to cannabis advocates, the OPS said that it had to, “fight for neutral and accurate wording,” during the approval process for the potential ballot measure. However, the organization was able to talk the Attorney General’s office down to a wording that the organization was “generally satisfied” with.
The final ballot measure wording can be seen on the OPS website.
OPS is now tasked with collecting the 140,000 signatures necessary for participation in the 2020 elections. OPS has contracted a marketing research company to help reach that goal.