An Entheofest unofficial vendor clutches jars of his products at the third-annual Ann Arbor psychedelic plant and shroom festival on the University of Michigan Diag on Sept. 17, 2023. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News
YPSILANTI, MI – In the new year, Ypsilanti leaders could vote to effectively decriminalize “magic mushrooms” and other psychedelic plants and fungi in the city.
City council members discussed the step on Tuesday, Dec. 19, following a presentation in late November from activists with Decriminalize Nature Michigan, an organization supporting policy reform eliminating criminal penalties for the use, growth and possession of so-called entheogenic plants, fungi or plant compounds.
That includes ayahuasca, ibogaine, mescaline, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms and other substances with hallucinogenic properties deemed illegal under state and federal law.
“Rather than perpetuate a system causing fear and anxiety around police encounters, perhaps it is time to try another approach, one that honors the self-agency and sovereignty of adults and the unalienable right to have their own relationship with nature,” said Larry Norris, a California resident and University of Michigan alumnus who co-founded Decriminalize Nature, during the Monday meeting.
Since mid-2019, 27 cities have implemented similar decriminalization policies nationwide, Norris said.
That includes Detroit, Ferndale, Hazel Park and Ann Arbor, where city leaders passed a resolution making psychedelic plants the city’s lowest law enforcement priority in 2020. Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit’s office followed by rolling out a policy not to prosecute the use, growth or possessions of entheogenic plants.
Read more: Washtenaw prosecutor won’t charge people for marijuana, shrooms, other psychedelics
“Considering that Ann Arbor City Council has already passed this, that the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office has shaped policy in accordance with them passing it, I think in an effort to align this policy and make it more cohesive, voting for this in Ypsilanti would be the right thing to do,” said Cornelius Williams, outreach director for Decriminalize Nature Michigan and an Ypsilanti resident, in a Nov. 21 presentation to city council.
The word entheogen derives its meaning from Greek, meaning “becoming divine within” and is a name given to the plants and psychoactive substances because of the spiritual experiences they have provoked in people who ingest them for thousands of years, Williams said.
Those advocating to loosen restrictions around the plants argue they also have medical benefits and can be used to treat mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and substance use disorders, citing studies showing the beneficial effects.
That’s been the case for advocates like Matt Strang, who addressed city council on Tuesday, saying that he successfully used psychedelics while in recovery for substance use issues to help control his depression.
“I want other people to have the opportunity to get relief like I did,” Strang said.
Ypsilanti leaders had a decriminalization resolution crafted by the activists before them on Tuesday, but Council Member Desirae Simmons said the step would require an ordinance change.
That’s something Mayor Nicole Brown said she supported, noting she had heard from several residents in support of decriminalization. City leaders said an ordinance, requiring two readings at separate meetings, could come back before city council.
Simmons also said she hoped the city would pass a statement supporting legislation from state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, to decriminalize plants and fungi containing certain psychoactive compounds statewide.
The plants Decriminalize Nature is focused on aren’t party drugs, but rather sacred plants usually used in ceremonial or intentional settings, Norris said at the Tuesday meeting. They’re not completely without risk, he added, but some of the highest-risk drugs, like alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceuticals, are already legal, he noted.
“Even taking selfies has a higher rate of injury and death than all of the entheogens combined in the resolution,” Norris added. “Ypsilanti can be a leader in this movement.”
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Ypsilanti could join neighbors in decriminalizing psychedelic mushrooms, plants – MLive.com
