It took half a century to get from decriminalizing marijuana in America to legalizing it. The journey to legalized psychedelics — even in, yes, Pennsylvania — could be much shorter, thanks to a couple of lawmakers from the Philly ’burbs and a lawyer from Lower Merion.
Pennsylvania could legalize psychedelics for medical use, like these magic mushrooms, more quickly than it did medical marijuana. Yarygin / Getty images
When Oregon voters legalized the supervised therapeutic use of psilocybin, a.k.a. ’shrooms, in 2020, it was surprising but not, like, that surprising, considering Oregon was the first state to decriminalize marijuana possession, way back in 1973.
But when conservative Texas governor Greg Abbott signed into law last year legislation to allow study on the use of said mushrooms as a treatment for PTSD in combat veterans, that was a surprise. The move got a lot of people’s attention, particularly those in Pennsylvania who’ve hoped we might consider a similar path.
That’s the political landscape into which a couple of legislators from the Philly ’burbs — state Reps Tracy Pennycuick (R-Montco) and Jennifer O’Mara (D-Delco) — introduced House Bill 1959 to the legislature in October. Their Public Health Benefits of Psilocybin Act would allow research in Pennsylvania…
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It took half a century to get from decriminalizing marijuana in America to legalizing it. The journey to legalized psychedelics — even in, yes, Pennsylvania — could be much shorter, thanks to a couple of lawmakers from the Philly ’burbs and a lawyer from Lower Merion.
Pennsylvania could legalize psychedelics for medical use, like these magic mushrooms, more quickly than it did medical marijuana. Yarygin / Getty images
When Oregon voters legalized the supervised therapeutic use of psilocybin, a.k.a. ’shrooms, in 2020, it was surprising but not, like, that surprising, considering Oregon was the first state to decriminalize marijuana possession, way back in 1973.
But when conservative Texas governor Greg Abbott signed into law last year legislation to allow study on the use of said mushrooms as a treatment for PTSD in combat veterans, that was a surprise. The move got a lot of people’s attention, particularly those in Pennsylvania who’ve hoped we might consider a similar path.
That’s the political landscape into which a couple of legislators from the Philly ’burbs — state Reps Tracy Pennycuick (R-Montco) and Jennifer O’Mara (D-Delco) — introduced House Bill 1959 to the legislature in October. Their Public Health Benefits of Psilocybin Act would allow research in Pennsylvania…