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How a trip on magic mushrooms helped decriminalize psychedelic plants in a California city
LA Times ^ | June 22, 2019 | Hailey Branson-Potts

Posted on 06/23/2019 5:58:33 PM PDT by plain talk

In May, Denver became the first city in the nation to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms. Voters approved a ballot initiative by such a razor-thin margin that multiple news outlets initially reported that it had failed.

It was easier in Oakland. The City Council on June 4 approved its ordinance unanimously, with little pushback. Oakland even went a step further by decriminalizing not just mushrooms but also a range of other psychoactive plants and compounds including peyote, iboga and ayahuasca. The measure, which applies only to plant-based hallucinogens and not synthetic drugs such as LSD and MDMA, does not actually legalize natural psychedelics, which remain illegal under state and federal law.

To Plazola, they’re all just plants. He said his mushroom trip last fall was the result of deep soul searching. He had just turned 50 and had a variety of careers: politics, community organizing, real estate development. He was “sort of bored.” He did yoga and mediated often but felt mentally blocked. Then he read author Michael Pollan’s bestseller “How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence.” “I was like, ‘OK, I need to try mushrooms,’ ” Plazola said.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: california; drugs
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1 posted on 06/23/2019 5:58:33 PM PDT by plain talk
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To: plain talk

There is another unseen world out there...


2 posted on 06/23/2019 6:06:52 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: plain talk

To Plazola, they’re all just plants.

So are hemlock and poison ivy.


3 posted on 06/23/2019 6:07:14 PM PDT by logitech
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To: plain talk

they’re fun, gus


4 posted on 06/23/2019 6:09:28 PM PDT by babble-on
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To: plain talk

. . because there aren’t enough homeless already.


5 posted on 06/23/2019 6:11:17 PM PDT by aimhigh (THIS is His commandment . . . . 1 John 3:23)
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To: logitech

No one referred to hemlock or poison ivy.

Learn how to understand English pronouns. Assimilate.


6 posted on 06/23/2019 6:14:19 PM PDT by coaster123 (Trump fights for you. Fight for him.)
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To: plain talk

Another way to pacify the population and control them.


7 posted on 06/23/2019 6:18:10 PM PDT by HighSierra5
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To: babble-on

“People should not be taking these compounds and be wandering around the busy streets of the city” or driving, Grob said. “They should be in a quiet, contained space, ideally being monitored by someone who is not in an altered state of consciousness.”


8 posted on 06/23/2019 6:18:53 PM PDT by babble-on
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To: logitech

Belladonna, morning glory seeds, and castor beans.


9 posted on 06/23/2019 6:20:46 PM PDT by VTenigma (The Democrat party is the party of the mathematically challenged)
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To: babble-on

And fun guys ain’t plants.


10 posted on 06/23/2019 6:20:52 PM PDT by gundog ( Hail to the Chief, bitches!)
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To: HighSierra5

Soma, it’s A Brave New World.


11 posted on 06/23/2019 6:21:51 PM PDT by VTenigma (The Democrat party is the party of the mathematically challenged)
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To: babble-on

““They should be in a quiet, contained space, ideally being monitored by someone who is not in an altered state of consciousness.””

I took them twice in the mid-70s and my recommendation is don’t ever use them. There is nothing positive they can offer. They just make you stupid and, yeah, if anyone is dumb enough to eat them they should be monitored during their “trip” by a sober person.

No way should these be legalized.


12 posted on 06/23/2019 6:23:37 PM PDT by be-baw
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To: babble-on

That was Tim Leary’s approach. The West Coast way, as espoused by Ken Kesey and Alan Watts, was to trip and go about your business, out in the world.


13 posted on 06/23/2019 6:25:25 PM PDT by gundog ( Hail to the Chief, bitches!)
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To: be-baw

I tried twice as well, a long time ago. Found it very interesting, but definitely far too powerful for people to mess around with them for kicks. They’re not a party drug, and don’t make you high. They rearrange your brain, and that can be dangerous as hell.


14 posted on 06/23/2019 6:28:02 PM PDT by babble-on
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To: logitech

“To Plazola, they’re all just plants.

So are hemlock and poison ivy.”

Yep. Discrimination and discernment is your friend.


15 posted on 06/23/2019 6:29:39 PM PDT by plain talk
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To: plain talk
Magic Mushrooms should be legalized. There is extensive evidence that psilocybin is effective at treating PTSD and depression. Of course we Americans can't have cheap, effective medications. The drug companies want us on very expensive prescriptions long term that may or may not work.


16 posted on 06/23/2019 6:33:38 PM PDT by CtBigPat (Qanon - Please be real...)
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To: plain talk
Postcard from Denver c. 2035.


17 posted on 06/23/2019 6:34:19 PM PDT by matt1234 (Jan. 20, 2017: the national nightmare ended.)
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To: be-baw

When you’ve experienced someone freaking out under the influence while on the roof of a mid size building ... then you understand what these drugs can do.

You were thoughtful in how you approached these drugs. Not everyone can handle these kinds of drugs without serious consequences.

In my college days there were three kinds of students — full time students, part time students and no-time students.


18 posted on 06/23/2019 6:35:34 PM PDT by plain talk
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To: be-baw

The two takeaways from my brief venture into psychedelics was understanding where Peter Max was coming from in his artwork and concluding the Beatles #9 made sense.


19 posted on 06/23/2019 6:41:58 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: CtBigPat

I know nothing about mushrooms, but I’m starting to come around to your overall view. I know three people that suffer from back pain ... One of them is my wife.

She got a med marijuana card. It has been six months. She doesn’t abuse it. Her quality of life has improved substantially. She no longer needs pain killers like vicodin ... She only puffs some when needed at home only.

My good friend’s wife had similar issues. She was on more harsh drugs to treat her pain. After getting the MM card, she only uses that and one antidepressant. My friend told me that it has completely changed his home life. He thought he’d live a life like a scene out of a Cheech and Chong movie.

I’m still monitoring her behavior to make sure there aren’t changes, but I am floored by how well such a cheap drug works.


20 posted on 06/23/2019 6:44:07 PM PDT by edh
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