Myths and Realities About the Decriminalization of Psychedelics in the US

The psychedelic renaissance is moving ahead full-steam; Denver decriminalized personal use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms; Oakland and Santa Cruz went farther and decriminalized a broad set of activities around all naturally-occurring psychedelic substances, known as “psychedelics,” “sacred plants” or “entheogens.” For more information on the Denver and Oakland initiatives, see my previous article in Chacruna.1 However, what does “decriminalization” mean in practice right now?