The City of West Hollywood will host a Community Educational Forum to discuss the potential decriminalization of mushrooms (Psilocybin) and other hallucinogenic drugs at the state level. The forum will feature a panel discussion with experts in mental health, legislation, and drug policy reform.
The Community Educational Forum will take place on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. at the City of West Hollywood’s Council Chambers/Public Meeting Room, located at 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard. The event is free and open to the public, with no advance RSVP required. Limited validated parking will be available in the adjacent Five-Story West Hollywood Park structure.
The Forum will be broadcast on WeHoTV, available on Spectrum Channel 10 in West Hollywood, as well as streamed on the City’s WeHoTV YouTube channel and various streaming platforms such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku by searching for “WeHoTV.”
Mayor Pro Tempore John M. Erickson of the City of West Hollywood expressed his support for the forum, highlighting the potential positive impacts of psilocybin in easing depression, anxiety, and more. The forum aims to explore new policies at the local, statewide, and federal levels while examining the future uses of these substances.
The panelists for the forum will include Dr. Eva Altobelli, a specialist in psychedelic and addiction psychiatry, Sgt. Terry Blevins from Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), and Joshua Kappel, an attorney who has worked on cannabis and psychedelic policies. The discussion will be moderated by Jackie Subeck, CEO of Hey Jackpot, a cannabis consulting firm.
Psilocybin, commonly known as “magic mushrooms,” is a naturally occurring chemical found in certain types of mushrooms. It is part of the psychedelic group of drugs and is known for its hallucinogenic effects. Historically, psilocybin has been used in indigenous cultures for healing purposes, and recent research has shown potential benefits for treating various psychiatric and behavioral disorders.
Psilocybin is currently classified as a Schedule 1 substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, meaning it is considered to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. However, some cities and states, including Denver, Oregon, Oakland, and Washington, D.C., have taken steps to decriminalize or regulate psilocybin.
In West Hollywood, a Resolution was adopted in 2022 declaring psilocybin-related offenses as a low enforcement priority. The West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station has not prioritized enforcing these offenses, and no recent arrests have been made locally.
The forum aims to facilitate a thoughtful discussion on the topic and explore potential paths for reform.
[…] The city will field questions about these and similar topics with residents at a town hall at 6:30 PM today. […]
I am sorry to inform many commenters that you risk oblivion due to your ignorance of the facts,
https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/2022/11/04/we-need-to-increase-research-into-psychedelics-for-veterans-with-ptsd/
Oh, I see we’re playing the “selective fact” game. How quaint! While medicinal value is indeed a relevant factor, let’s not forget the minor detail that some drugs can, you know, harm people. It’s almost as if there are multiple facets to consider when shaping drug policies. Shocking, I know!
Most of the comments did not address any of the benefits, so you can accuse all of use being selective.
Traditional Chinese Medicine TCM does not harm people in any way and they often work with patients that have tried every other solution consequently the cases they solve are often very complicated.
No doubt, but no laws have to be written or changed to make it accessible.
[…] https://wehoonline.com/2023/07/18/july-25-legalize-psychedelic-mushrooms/ […]
Don’t trust the machine elves, they only lie.
In all my years in West Hollywood I have never been in a club where someone whispered in my ear, “I’ve got mushrooms”. I’ve never seen people crowded into bathroom stalls doing shrooms. Psilocybin is not a party drug. In the Western Hemisphere, indigenous people used mushrooms in religious rites for thousands of years. There is increasing evidence that under proper medical supervision, use of mushrooms can be used to treat a variety of mental health issues, including depression and even addiction. What is needed are recognized studies so that if psilocybin does have positive qualities, it could be administered… Read more »
No, No, NO!
Why doesn’t the city recommend something sensible or useful as a potential remedy for ones physical and mental issues. TCM has been around for several thousand years, is accredited, accepted by healthcare insurance and does not precipitate folks jumping off of buildings.
Why not? The race to the bottom is almost complete.
And to consider this question in any meaningful way, we should first ask if criminalization of magic mushrooms is a significant contributor to prison population or criminal citation. We should then weigh those social impacts against the dangers and Lee Sallady of the drug, and its potential impact on the public in general. Knowing Erickson, and knowing what big money NGOs he is ingratiated with, I strongly suspect that none of these factors are a significant consideration for him in proposing this measure. Rather, this is a top down initiative from Sacramento pushed by Soros aligned NGO’s, With potential benefit… Read more »
Or…. just the freedom for the individual to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness without government control. As has now been proven in the public incubator pot is not the devil the public was told. Not nearly as much as demon rum. Maybe it will help fight paranoia.
Without commenting on the effectiveness of various drug decrim models in unique regional contexts, any critical minded citizen ought to consider WHO is funding these legislative campaigns, and to what benefit?
Absolutely love that Soros is mentioned! This website is like my local Fox News so much fun! Please continue to comment all of you, we need to hear from WeHos top minds!
Perhaps you haven’t been following this play out in the PNW over the last few years.
“Bronner added that he hopes to team up with other drug-reform funders, such as Mark Zuckerberg and George Soros, to maximize their policy impact. “If we all line up as one grand coalition, we can run twice as many ballot measures in a given cycle. We’re working hard on figuring that out.”
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/two-track-effort-to-allow-psychedelic-mushrooms-in-washington-state-launches-amid-broader-drug-decrim-push/
I was a young adult in the late 60s and early 70s and I saw a lot of people really screwed up after taking mushrooms and other hallucinogenic drugs! if you’re already, in a bad place, mentally, these drugs don’t help! I have seen people really really messed up on them. After witnessing what we used to call “bad trips“, I swore never to do them!
And considering that this idea is coming from John Erickson, it’s really scary!!
All drugs were not created equal. If we’re going to outlaw drugs, get rid of alcohol and caffeine as well.
Don’t categorize all drugs in one column. Unless you categorize all drugs.
I think perhaps you misunderstood what I was trying to convey.
I didn’t think I was categorizing anything or putting all drugs in one column. I’m saying that mushrooms are scary. I have seen first hand the results of what they can do. One bad trip can mess up a person’s mind permanently.
I don’t think I demanded that they be outlawed…However… they are very different from alcohol and caffeine. So, the decision whether or not to allow them should be weighed very very carefully.
Shrooms are seriously disabling at a moderate dose, and in my humble opinion, are not the type of substance to commercialize in a recreational economy by any reasonable standard. If the intention here is merely criminal Justice reform and not taxable revenue, then let’s hear the argument for legalizing methamphetamine or ghb. God knows it’s endemic enough, and it’s criminalization more relevant to WeHo’s weekend warriors than the criminalization ig shrooms.
Just with this city needs more people on drugs. Can we think of any more ways to destroy the city? Honestly it’s so ridiculous.
A faster way to destroy the city is raising the minimum wage to obscene levels, and defending the sheriffs.
All horrible, bad policies with devastating consequences…as we are seeing.
But these geniuses are doing “all of the above”….all at the same time.
at record speed, I might ad!
No. West Hollywood is the land of alcohol, and extended club hours, cannabis dispensaries on every corner, cannabis eateries, increasing homelessness, mental illness run rampant and the city is considering legalizing magic mushroom? The loonies have landed.
But you don’t want to interfere with their freedom, do you. Alcohol, cannabis and mushrooms are all equally classified as drugs. The city council are the biggest drug pushers in the country, per capita.
My friend’s son jumped off a building and died while on magic mushrooms.
Let’s not do that to another young man.
What a sad story, but my hunch, (based on nothing), is he would have ended his life in another way. He simply selected mushrooms rather than alcohol or cannabis that the city promotes under the guise that it’s medicinal.
“(based on nothing)”
Based on ignorance
Do you have some evidence that since mushrooms are illegal, someone’s life was saved as it caused them to make better life choices? Let us know your secret info.
What a cruel and insensitive comment to make on a public board, or anywhere.
Very sorry you experienced this loss in your life. Every night, a 100 people across the country are killed because they drink too much. Do you want to go back to prohibition?
And no bigger drug/alcohol pushers than the weho city council.
Obviously a lot of the regulars on this particular site would be just fine with alcohol prohibition, among other myriad prohibitions, you must be new here.
And if any city council anywhere effectively “pushed alcohol” on someone, that’s probably the type of person who had their high school principal as their role model growing up.