Research shows some promising results as magic mushrooms are increasingly being used for possible therapeutic benefits.
“The extent to which there is growing use, as a form of medicine or treatment, we are seeing certain jurisdictions in the United States moving towards not necessarily legalizing, but decriminalizing mushrooms, perhaps making it a low priority offence,” Hathaway said. Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic, the active ingredient found in magic mushrooms. There are more than 200 different species, and according to Health Canada, magic mushrooms have been used for thousands of years and for treatment of anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance use.
It is legal in some countries and decriminalized in a a few U.S. states, meaning it’s not legal, but the possession and cultivation of the drug is not prosecuted and sales are not regulated. But recent raids by police on mushroom dispensaries in cities, including Windsor and Brantford, raises the question of whether this is a move towards legalization.
“The reasoning behind that, was that it was seen as a threat to the profitability of the legal industry.”