Psilocybin: a Starter Plant Medicine

Colorado is set to decriminalize plant medicines on the ballot this coming November. In my mind, the passage of the initiative is a virtual certainty. Much has been done to make this inevitability possible, but what stands above all else is the vast amount of research on psilocybin for treatment of mental health disorders. The research has pushed the needle with ferocity and caused a litany of articles and books to be written about the promise of these medicines. Books like How to Change Your Mind, by Michael Pollan (and the show by the same name) have acted as cultural jet fuel for the broad distribution of the benefits of psychedelics into the mainstream. The psilocybin decriminalization movement, started right here in Denver CO., has also caused a shift in legalities that has made the work with this sacred plant medicine much more acceptable by the general public. I’m seeing more and more conversations happening, in more and more rooms, by a greater diversity of individuals. It’s invigorating and promising.

These medicines offer great promise, particularly psilocybin. That’s especially so due to the amount of research that has been done to qualify not only the effectiveness of treating mental health disorders with psilocybin, but the safety as well. Psilocybin is, by and large, considered a safe drug. The combination of considerable safety and extraordinary effectiveness makes it a great entry point into the world of sacred plant medicines, for the curious individual. I mean, it is great for experienced journeyers as well. But as the general public opens up their awareness to the healing powers of plant medicine, I suspect most people will funnel toward psilocybin first.