Vermont lawmakers are making their final decisions on what bills they want to pursue as they get closer to the halfway point of the legislative session, with the crossover deadline coming up on March 15. If a bill does not make it to the other chamber by that date, it is considered done for the session. One of the bills getting a final look would decriminalize Psilocybin, a popular psychedelic found in mushrooms. On Thursday, lawmakers heard from doctors and researchers. “In a way that we still don’t know scientifically how it happens, Psilocybin seems to be powerfully transformative to these kind of situations where someone’s tried everything and still very deeply suffering,” said Katherine Maclean, a former Johns Hopkins researcher. Psilocybin has been rising in popularity nationwide, and other states have already decriminalized it and added it to their medical tool bag. Now, Vermont lawmakers are looking at doing the same. “It actually might reduce alcohol use and other dangerous drug use because we’ve seen in the research Psilocybin actually does interrupt addiction,” said Maclean. Brattleboro Retreat, a mental health treatment center, also said the psychedelics can play a key role in solving addiction disorders. “Things like smoking sensation, people are getting results leaps and bounds better with just a few treatments of Psilocybin and therapy and maybe double or triple the sort of results we get with the best therapies we have available,” said Kurt White, of Brattleboro Retreat.
Vermont lawmakers are making their final decisions on what bills they want to pursue as they get closer to the halfway point of the legislative session, with the crossover deadline coming up on March 15.
If a bill does not make it to the other chamber by that date, it is considered done for the session.
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One of the bills getting a final look would decriminalize Psilocybin, a popular psychedelic found in mushrooms. On Thursday, lawmakers heard from doctors and researchers.
“In a way that we still don’t know scientifically how it happens, Psilocybin seems to be powerfully transformative to these kind of situations where someone’s tried everything and still very deeply suffering,” said Katherine Maclean, a former Johns Hopkins researcher.
Psilocybin has been rising in popularity nationwide, and other states have already decriminalized it and added it to their medical tool bag. Now, Vermont lawmakers are looking at doing the same.
“It actually might reduce alcohol use and other dangerous drug use because we’ve seen in the research Psilocybin actually does interrupt addiction,” said Maclean.
Brattleboro Retreat, a mental health treatment center, also said the psychedelics can play a key role in solving addiction disorders.
“Things like smoking sensation, people are getting results leaps and bounds better with just a few treatments of Psilocybin and therapy and maybe double or triple the sort of results we get with the best therapies we have available,” said Kurt White, of Brattleboro Retreat.
