- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Denver and help keep the future of Westword free.
Dear Stoner: When can we start buying mushrooms in dispensaries?
Felipe
Dear Felipe: Although Denver and Oakland recently decriminalized magic mushrooms — or their psychedelic compound, psilocybin — you and every other drug-doer out there should know that decriminalization and legalization are far from the same. Legalization denotes some set of legal rights and regulations, while decriminalization just means that law enforcement won’t be placing a priority on, or putting any finances toward, arresting and prosecuting you for a certain action, like possessing magic mushrooms. And only Denver — nowhere else in Colorado — has decriminalized mushrooms. It would take a ballot measure and approval of Colorado voters to legalize them like cannabis.
However, Denver’s decision to decriminalize cannabis in 2005 was an integral first step in the state’s approval of recreational pot, so you’re not entirely batshit for thinking this could happen. The Food and Drug Administration has fast-tracked production of a psilocybin-based drug to treat depression, while a Denver coffee roaster announced plans to produce psilocybin-infused coffee if it can get FDA or state approval. Maybe you’ll have the last laugh in the next decade or so.
Send questions to marijuana@westword.com.
Keep Westword Free... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Denver with no paywalls.
