Minneapolis loosens enforcement of psychedelic drug laws
Minneapolis’ Democratic mayor has ordered police to stop enforcing laws that criminalize the purchase and use of psychedelics, such as magic mushrooms — effectively decriminalizing the mind-altering drugs.
Mayor Jacob Frey issued the executive order Friday instructing the city’s police officers to stop using taxpayer dollars to crack down on hallucinogen users, except in cases where they are driving under the influence or bringing them to school.
A law against selling psychedelics, however, will still be enforced.
In announcing the new policy, Frey cited the potential for drugs like psilocybin — the active ingredient in magic mushrooms — to treat mental illnesses including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Experts are telling us that these plants help people, and that’s the business we should be in — helping people,” the mayor said in a statement.
“With a rise in deaths of despair in our city, and in our society, the data is showing that these plants can help be a remedy.”
Studies have shown that psilocybin can help the brain reroute itself and promote neural connections in underused areas, which acts as a more effective treatment for depression than conventional antidepressants.
However, experts warn the drugs can cause dangerous hallucinations and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to make a final determination on the drug’s effectiveness.
In 2018, the FDA designated psilocybin, as well as MDMA, as “breakthrough therapies” — meaning the drugs show promise but more research is needed. The designation is intended to try to speed the development and review of drugs to treat a serious condition.
The American Psychiatric Association has also not yet endorsed the use of psychedelics in treatment.
Still, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara released a statement saying he supports Frey’s decision and Democratic state Rep. Andy Smith, who drafted the measure, said he had been pleasantly surprised at how open-minded the conversation around the proposal was.
The bill even got two Republican co-sponsors, according to the Star Tribune.
“The very first thing that I bring up in any conversation on this is that it has been used primarily for PTSD for veterans and police officers, and we’ve seen great treatment benefits from that,” Rep. Nolan West, a Republican, told the newspaper in March.
A local immigrant rights and criminal justice reform organization also applauded Frey’s order as a step in ending harsh drug laws, which it said were born out of racism.
“This is an important first step to undo all the harms inflicted from the war on people who use drugs, which was created to target brown and Black peoples,” DecriMN Coalition founding member Jessica Nielson said in a statement.
Psilocybin was first banned by the US government in 1968, in a law that said it had “no currently accepted medical use” and “a lack of accepted safety.”
Oregon became the first state in the US to legalize psilocybin for adult use this year, after Colorado voters last year elected to decriminalize it.
Psilocybin is a Schedule 1 narcotic in New York state, and dealers could face felony charges for selling a gram of the drug, with up to 25 years in jail.
With Post wires