Ann Arbor lawmakers vote to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms

Lawmakers in Ann Arbor, Mich., voted unanimously Monday to decriminalize psychedelic plants and fungi.

The city council voted in favor of a resolution that makes investigating or arresting anyone in the purchase, seizure, growing, cultivation or distribution of entheogenic plants or plant compounds the lowest priority of local law enforcement, AnnArbor.com reported.

The move effectively decriminalizes substances with hallucinogenic properties deemed illegal under state and federal law, including ayahuasca, ibogaine, mescaline, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, according to the news outlet.

The city council also called on the Washtenaw County prosecutor’s office to halt the prosecution of those involved in the use of entheogenic plants and plant compound, AnnArbor.com noted.

A grassroots group called Decriminalize Nature Ann Arbor, or DNA2, has reportedly been lobbying and pushing city officials to decriminalization psychedelics.

Psilocybin is currently classified as a Schedule 1 drug at the federal level. The U.S. government has determined it has “a high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical treatment use in the U.S.”

A ballot measure in Oregon that would legalize psychedelic mushrooms for use in controlled therapy settings will be decided by voters in November. 

If the ballot measure is voted on and passed into law, it would “empower the Oregon Health Authority to set up all licensing, training, certification, and ongoing education requirements for psilocybin service centers and facilitators during a mandated two-year development process.”

Cities such as Denver and Oakland, Calif., have already decriminalized certain natural hallucinogenics, including psychedelic mushrooms.