There are some drugs about which good arguments can be made on both sides of the legality issue. Highly addictive ones do indeed ruin lives, and while there is an argument that that should be the person's choice, the other side can argue that the government is there to better the common good, and that can include protecting people from their own bad decisions. I have mixed feelings about the legality issue when it comes to cocaine, meth, heroin, prescription opioids, etc.<p>With psilocybin mushrooms, though, I can't imagine any reasonable argument that people need to be protected from themselves. They aren't addictive by any definition of addiction I know of. And they can do some amazingly positive things, especially for those who are facing death due to illness or just old age. I would go so far as to say it is tragic that such people are denied relief from the horrible feeling of impending death that mushrooms can provide.<p>Not that I am against people just doing them for kicks, either.
The DEA Scheduling system is not fact-based and needs to be completely redone. In fact, the categorizations are provably false e.g. PCP is schedule II, Cocaine is schedule III, Xanax is Schedule IV etc, while Marijuana and Psilocybin (mushrooms) are Schedule I.<p>Yes that's right, according to the federal government, marijuana and mushrooms are more harmful, more addictive, and have less medical use than PCP, Cocaine, or Xanax.
Can't help but wonder what the unintended consequences of decriminalizing psychedelic plants would be in society? I'm thinking this might create a new market for Shamans (therapists ?) that guide you through psychedelic uses! What else?
Why stop at plants? If someone chooses to take whatever substance it's no one else's business (unless others have to pay for the medical treatment afterwards... but that is easily solved by NOT making others pay). The actually dangerous drugs - the ones (SSRIs, notably) which have suicide as a side effect, sometimes resulting in people going on murderous rampages - are quite legal and widely prescribed. Go figure.
I had to vouch averros and I can't reply to him, great. Decriminalize all drugs.<p>Cheese + SSRI: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome</a><p>Grapefruit + SSRI: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit%E2%80%93drug_interactions" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit%E2%80%93drug_intera...</a>