Denver, Colorado, Initiated Ordinance 301, Psilocybin Mushroom Initiative (May 2019)
| Initiated Ordinance 301: Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Initiative |
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| May 7, 2019 |
| Status: |
 Approved
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| Topic: |
| Local law enforcement |
| Related articles |
| Local law enforcement on the ballot May 7, 2019 ballot measures in Colorado Denver County, Colorado ballot measures |
| See also |
| Denver, Colorado |
An initiative to decriminalize the use and possession of mushrooms containing the psychedelic compound psilocybin was on the ballot for voters in Denver, Colorado, on May 7, 2019. It was approved.
| A "yes" vote was a vote in favor of making the adult possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms the lowest law enforcement priority in Denver and prohibiting the city from spending resources on enforcing related penalties. |
| A "no" vote was a vote against making the adult possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms the lowest law enforcement priority in Denver and prohibiting the city from spending resources on enforcing related penalties. |
Election results
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Denver Initiated Ordinance 301 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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90,097 | 50.64% | ||
| No | 87,806 | 49.36% | ||
Initiative design
Decriminalization
Initiated Ordinance 301 (I-301) was designed to decriminalize the use and possession of mushrooms that contain psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound. The petition stated the following:[1]
| “ |
The purpose and intent of this article is to:
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” |
| —Initiative purpose and intent | ||
Psilocybin mushrooms were classified as an illegal Schedule I drug under federal law. Schedule I drugs include substances that are not recognized for medical use and that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) defines as having a high potential for abuse and dependence. Decriminalize Denver stated that the initiative aimed to place possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms at the lowest level of law enforcement priority rather than to legalize the substance.[3][4]
Policy review panel
I-301 also provided for an 11-member Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel to assess the results of the proposed ordinance. The panel was set to include the following:[1]
- two members of the Denver City Council;
- two citizens representing proponents who petitioned for the initiative;
- one CAC-II (Certified Addictions Counselor);
- one individual identified as a harm reduction advocate;
- one Denver Police Department representative;
- one Denver Sheriff Department representative;
- one criminal defense attorney;
- one Office of the Denver District Attorney representative; and
- one Denver City Attorney’s Office representative.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for the initiative was as follows:[1]
| “ |
Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt an ordinance to the Denver Revised Municipal Code that would make the personal use and personal possession of psilocybin mushrooms by persons twenty-one (21) years of age and older the city’s lowest law-enforcement priority, prohibit the city from spending resources to impose criminal penalties for the personal use and personal possession of psilocybin mushrooms by persons twenty-one (21) years of age and older, and establish the psilocybin mushroom policy review panel to assess and report on the effects of the ordinance?[2] |
” |
Full text of initiative
The full text of the initiative is available here.
Support
Proponents
The group Decriminalize Denver led the petition effort to place Initiated Ordinance 301 on the ballot and led the campaign in favor of a "yes" vote. The group filed campaign finance reports under the political committee name Denver Psilocybin Initiative. The committee had reported $23,922.39 in contributions as of April 12, 2019.[4][5]
Notable endorsements
The following groups endorsed I-301:
- The Denver Green Party[6]
- The Libertarian Party of Colorado[7]
- Veterans for Natural Rights[8]
Arguments
Decriminalize Denver made the following argument in favor of decriminalizing psilocybin mushrooms on its website:
| “ | We envision a society where individuals can use psilocybin mushrooms without fear of criminal or civil penalties. Psilocybin is shown to:
|
” |
| —Decriminalize Denver[9] | ||
The Libertarian Party of Colorado stated that Decriminalize Denver’s "effort matches the Libertarian Party of Colorado’s platform planks of 'The Individual' and 'Victimless Crimes.'"[7]
The Denver Green Party stated that the "psilocybin effort encompasses six of the Green Party’s Ten Key Values: Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice, Ecological Wisdom, Non-Violence, Respect for Diversity, and Personal and Global responsibility."[6]
Opposition
Arguments
Jeff Hunt, director of Colorado Christian University's Centennial Institute, stated, "Denver is quickly becoming the illicit drug capital of the world. The truth is we have no idea what the long-term health effects of these drugs are going to do to the people of Colorado ... At a certain point, parents are going to look at the city of Denver and say, 'I don't want to take my kids to that city.' And I don't think tourists are going to want to come to this state."[10]
If you are aware of additional arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
| Total campaign contributions: | |
| Support: | $47,945.78 |
| Opposition: | $0.00 |
Support
One ballot measure committee, Denver Psilocybin Initiative, filed in support of the initiative. The committee reported $47,946 in total monetary contributions and $46,791 in cash expenditures.[5]
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Donors
The following were the top two donors to the support campaign:[5]
| Donor | Cash | In-kind | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devin Alvarez | $10,000.00 | $0.00 | $10,000.00 |
| Kayvan Khalatbari | $1,500.00 | $0.00 | $1,500.00 |
| Del Jolly | $1,250.00 | $0.00 | $1,250.00 |
Opposition
No committees filed in opposition to I-301.
Background
DEA classification and stated effects of psilocybin
- See also: Healthcare policy in the United States
As of February 13, 2019, psilocybin was classified as a Schedule I drug by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). According to the DEA, Schedule I drugs are not approved for medical use and have a high potential for abuse and dependence. The DEA's website listed the following as effects caused by psilocybin use:[11]
| “ |
|
” |
| —Drug Enforcement Administration | ||
Clinical research on medical uses of psilocybin
Psilocybin is a tryptamine hallucinogen identified in over 100 species of mushrooms worldwide, according to a meta-analysis originally published in The Mental Health Clinician in 2017. The article's authors noted that psilocybin produces sensory alteration and serotonergic activity, which has led to clinical studies on the substance's neuropsychiatric effects.[12]
Research on psilocybin's effects resurfaced after the Food and Drug Administration allowed for research on psychedelic agents in 1992. Clinical research has explored potential treatment effects of psilocybin on conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders, suicidality, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and addiction.[12]
The authors of the meta-analysis concluded that "it appears psilocybin may have some efficacy as an alternative agent to manage mental health conditions." They also stated that "there are multiple limitations to these studies. Many of them are small and are not able to be applied to larger populations. Additionally, because of the CSA Schedule I nature of psilocybin, it was administered under very controlled conditions."[12]
Efforts in support of psilocybin for medical use
The group Decriminalize Denver (formerly Denver for Psilocybin) formed to increase access to psilocybin for its potential medicinal uses. The group stated on its website, "An estimated 1 in 6 Americans are taking psychiatric medication, and there is a rampant epidemic of prescription drug abuse across the country. The need for powerful, medically-effective alternatives in addition to traditional pharmaceutical interventions is clear to all."[4]
Proponents of reducing criminalization for psilocybin also organized in Oregon as The Oregon Psilocybin Society, which submitted a statewide initiative petition for the 2020 ballot. A similar effort to place a psilocybin decriminalization measure on the ballot took place in California in 2018. The proposed initiative did not make the ballot.
The New York Times also reported in October 2018 that researchers from Johns Hopkins University recommended that psilocybin be reclassified for medical use.
Johns Hopkins researchers told The New York Times that the Food and Drug Administration had approved several clinical trials.[13]
Colorado status of psilocybin and right-to-try laws
- See also: Right-to-try laws
Leading up to the election, the use and possession of psilocybin were illegal and penalized in Colorado, except in certain cases allowed under the state's right-to-try law. Right-to-try laws aim to allow terminally ill patients to gain access to experimental drugs without the permission of the FDA. Colorado was the first state to adopt a right-to-try law in 2014.[14]
Path to the ballot
Decriminalize Denver submitted 8,524 signatures to the Denver Elections Division on January 7, 2019. Proponents needed to collect 4,726 valid signatures to place the initiative on the ballot. In Denver, signatures equal to 5 percent of the votes cast for mayoral candidates in the preceding mayoral election are required to put an initiative before voters. On February 1, 2019, the Denver Elections Division verified that 5,559 of the signatures submitted by Decriminalize Denver were valid, sending Initiated Ordinance 301 to the ballot.[15]
Proponents, under the organization name Denver for Psilocybin, submitted two unsuccessful petition initiatives in 2018 before the elections division accepted a third petition on October 5, 2018. The first two petitions were denied by the elections division due to technical issues with the language.[16]
Related measures
Statewide
Oregon Measure 109, Psilocybin Mushroom Services Program Initiative (2020)
California Psilocybin Mushroom Decriminalization Initiative (2018)
Local
Denver, Colorado, Psilocybin Mushroom Initiative (November 2018)
See also
External links
Support
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Decriminalize Denver, "Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Decriminalization Initiative," accessed January 7, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Drug Enforcement Administration, "Drug Scheduling," accessed January 15, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 ABC 10 News, "Denver could become first US city to decriminalize magic mushrooms," January 9, 2019 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Dec" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Denver.gov, "Campaign Finance," accessed February 13, 2019 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Fin" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 6.0 6.1 Denver Green Party, "Denver Green Party endorses psilocybin mushroom ballot initiative," December 3, 2018
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Libertarian Party of Colorado, "LPCO Endorses Psilocybin Mushroom Ballot Initiative," December 16, 2018
- ↑ Facebook, "Veterans for Natural Rights," accessed May 10, 2019
- ↑ Decriminalize Denver, "Home," accessed January 15, 2019
- ↑ The Denver Channel, "Denver could become the first city in America to decriminalize the use of magic mushrooms," January 8, 2019
- ↑ Drug Enforcement Agency, "Psilocybin Drug Facts," accessed February 13, 2019
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 National Center for Biotechnology Information, "Clinical potential of psilocybin as a treatment for mental health conditions (Jeremy Daniel and Margaret Haberman)," published online Mar 23, 2018
- ↑ The New York Times, "Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer to Medicinal Use (It’s Not Just Your Imagination)," October 3, 2018
- ↑ Boulderopolis, "Colorado law gives terminal patients 'right to try' unapproved drugs," accessed March 11, 2016
- ↑ The Denver Channel, "Denver will get to vote on whether to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms in May," February 1, 2019
- ↑ Denver.gov, "Initiated Ordinance Process," accessed February 13, 2019
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