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Hallucinogenic mushrooms were often dismissed by mainstream medicine as illicit drugs in the 1960s and 1970s. But now, in a major shift, the psychedelic drugs are seen as offering possible relief for illnesses like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In the same way that marijuana was considered for decades as an illegal drug, a societal shift allowed a refocus on medical marijuana for pain relief and other uses. Now, mushrooms are also being viewed for their potential benefits though some politicians still remain skeptical.
The next step is that advocates want to decriminalize possession of small amounts of mushrooms, and they will be pushing for that in the 2024 legislative session. The state House of Representatives passed a bill last year, but the issue was never debated in the Senate before time ran out. Now, in a short session that starts in early February, advocates are taking another chance at decriminalization.
State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, a Bridgeport Democrat who co-chairs the legislature’s judiciary committee, says he will “definitely” reintroduce the bill next year during the short session that lasts three months and ends in May. Known as magic mushrooms, they contain a substance called psilocybin that was studied in the early 1960s by clinical psychologist Timothy Leary as part of the Harvard Psilocybin Project.
“Psilocybin is not a substance that is particularly harmful to the body, particularly when used in moderation, much like what we saw with cannabis,” Stafstrom said in an interview. “My proposal is not to legalize it, but to decriminalize it. So simple possession would be treated as an infraction, similar to how we treat a speeding ticket.”
Stafstrom added, “What the data and the statistics show is that this is a substance that generally is not seen as any more harmful or addictive than alcohol or cannabis or tobacco. In fact, it has significant health benefits for the treatment of PTSD and several other types of illnesses. Yes, we should discourage abuse of it, much like we discourage abuse of alcohol, cannabis or cigarettes, but we should not be treating it with jail time.”
But House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford said decriminalization is a bad idea that is heading in the wrong direction.
“The Democrats are creating a culture of drugs,” Candelora said in an interview. “It started with marijuana. Now, we’re going to transition to magic mushrooms. Next, it will be cocaine and heroin. The reality is we’ve already seen [increases in] wrong-way driving and fentanyl deaths, and none of this seems to be concerning” to some legislators.
Candelora agreed that some patients need to be treated for medical purposes.
“That drug use should be done under a doctor’s care, not under self-medication,” Candelora said. “This is just a veiled attempt to continue to decriminalize illicit drug use under the guise that there’s some medicinal value to it.”
$8.5 million Burlington bust
Illegal mushrooms generated widespread attention recently with the arrest of a 21-year-old man who had huge quantities of mushrooms with a street value that police estimated at $8.5 million.
Westen Soule was arrested last month at his Burlington home, where pictures by state police showed that he kept hundreds of bags in neatly packaged quantities in rows on metal shelves. The arrest made national news in The Washington Post, USA Today and CBS News, among others, due to the quantity of the drugs.
The decriminalization effort will have no impact on Soule’s case because the bill covers possession of small amounts. Soule was charged with felony counts of operation of a drug factory and possession with intent to sell or distribute narcotics.
Mushrooms are currently classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance that is illegal at the federal level.
Decriminalization
Connecticut has been following behind some states on the issue while being ahead of others.
Oregon was a trailblazer in 2020 as the first state where voters approved decriminalizing possession of small amounts of mushrooms. In addition, the state approved the therapeutic use of mushrooms in a supervised setting.
Colorado followed two years later by approving a statewide referendum for decriminalization. Like Oregon, the state also passed special centers so that users could take the drug in a supervised setting.
“Those are not states that we want to emulate,” Candelora said.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsome went against the trend by vetoing a bill recently on decriminalization. But advocates are still pushing for the idea and trying to get two questions on the November 2024 ballot on both decriminalization and $5 billion in funding for research.
“California should immediately begin work to set up regulated treatment guidelines — replete with dosing information, therapeutic guidelines, rules to prevent against exploitation during guided treatments, and medical clearance of no underlying psychoses,” Newsom said in October in his veto message. “Unfortunately, this bill would decriminalize possession prior to these guidelines going into place, and I cannot sign it.”
About 20 states are studying various potential changes regarding mushrooms, officials said.
Before the move for decriminalization, the Connecticut legislature first passed a bill to study the issue. The legislation stated that a working group would undertake “an examination of whether the use of psilocybin by a person under the direction of a health care provider may be beneficial to the person’s physical or mental wellbeing. As used in this subsection, “psilocybin” means the chemical compound obtained from certain types of hallucinogenic mushrooms that grow naturally in regions of Europe, South America, Mexico and the United States.”
Passed House
During the Connecticut House debate earlier this year, lawmakers were split over the issue — mainly along party lines.
The measure passed by 86-64 with two Republicans joining with the Democrats for passage and 13 moderate Democrats, including six deputy Speakers, breaking with their party and voting against the measure. Even with the House passage, the measure must start over and must be passed by both chambers and signed into law by the governor.
Rep. Francis Cooley, a Plainville Republican, said the state needs to wait longer in order to see the impact of the legalization of marijuana in Connecticut and also the impact of psychedelic drugs in other states. When Cooley asked Stafstrom about the impact of mushrooms, Stafstrom responded, “Certain individuals have higher tolerance levels for certain drugs than others.”
Cooley responded, “Having been to a number of Grateful Dead shows, I pretty much know that answer just watching the crowd. … I would highly recommend we wait and see how legalization of marijuana works in the state. And also take a look at places like Denver, Colorado, San Francisco, Los Angeles, where you’ve had a series of legalization of what were once illegal drugs.”
But some Democratic lawmakers spoke on the beneficial impacts for veterans who suffered wartime injuries.
“I rise in support, especially of the veterans that have found that small amounts of psilocybin has been incredibly effective in treating some intractable conditions that they are really looking for relief from with very few side effects,” said Democratic Rep. Anne Hughes, one of the legislature’s most liberal members. “And I encourage the FDA’s speedy process to make this more available legally for especially veterans suffering from intractable PTSD and other injuries. And I urge adoption.”
On the House floor, Stafstrom made some of the same points as Hughes.
“I think what a lot of those studies seem to suggest is particularly for PTSD, anxiety, depression, this substance seems to be more beneficial and less addictive than some of these synthetic prescriptions available out there, particularly with respect to veterans,” Stafstrom said. “And it is, I believe, those studies generally indicate that there are quite a number of veterans in our state and elsewhere that are using this substance.”
But Candelora said he will continue fighting against decriminalization in 2024.
“These drugs are dangerous,” Candelora said. “They shouldn’t be made legal, and they shouldn’t be normalized in society. You decriminalize these things and you’re normalizing it in society and saying it’s no big deal. … The continuation of normalizing addictive drug use is a policy that I don’t want any part of. I don’t understand this rush to encourage drug use in the state of Connecticut.”
Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
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