Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, introduced a bill in the House on Wednesday that would prevent the use of federal funds to prosecute the legal use of psilocybin, also known as “magic mushrooms.”
The VISIONS Act aims to prevent federal law enforcement from interfering with the legal use of mushrooms in states where psilocybin is permitted.
Garcia claims that anyone suffering from mental health issues, especially veterans, may find relief through psychedelic medicine.
The California Democrat argues that existing federal legislation fails to keep pace with the growing body of evidence showing that psilocybin’s psychedelic treatment can help those with anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions.
Psilocybin is legal in some states and municipalities, but it is illegal to own or use according to Federal law, contradicting the state’s rights.
In the year 2020, in Oregon, mushroom use by adults over the age of 21 was decriminalized. In 2014, after another year passed, Colorado became the second state in the US to decriminalize psilocybin. There is now a law in California making it less illegal for individuals to carry small amounts of marijuana on its way to the desk of Governor Gavin Newsom for signature.
Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer said in a statement that the federal government has maintained a faulty system for too long, preventing people from accessing the therapeutic potential of psilocybin. He said it’s long past time for the federal government to stop stymieing progress in states like Oregon that are actively working to improve.
Garcia, a former Long Beach, California mayor, supported legalizing cannabis in the state.
Psilocybin’s potential benefits have been overlooked for years, but now, as Gracia states, he intends to protect the regions and states that are eager to investigate the real improvements that this treatment may make for individuals within their communities.
