DENVER — Throngs of people, from academics, artists, entrepreneurs, politicians and students flooded the convention center downtown as psychedelics took center stage amid the decriminalization of natural medicines like magic mushrooms in Colorado.
"Coloradans are ready to shape a new paradigm around how we approach the drug war and how we use drugs,” said Betty Aldworth, communications director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.
MAPS is hosting the five-day event that incorporates workshops about using psychedelics for mental health therapy, industry updates and public policy changes as voters begin to relax laws governing the use of psychedelics for recreational and therapeutic use.
Aldworth said MAPS picked Colorado for the conference because the state is known for forging a path for drug policy reform. Colorado is among the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational use and natural medicines like psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.
“What I would like to see is have something like this have a ripple effect, so that the folks who aren't familiar with these medicines, who haven't been exposed, who haven't had access, find a bridge to it,” said artist Dustin Yellin.
A large part of the conference centers around the science behind the therapeutic properties of psychedelics, which attracted student Zacharie Straley to the conference from the state of Washington.
“I've always had to keep my interest in psychedelics quiet. It's really incredible to be able to share this excitement and share all of this new data and research with thousands of people,” Straley said.
Inside the exhibit halls, vendors are showcasing their businesses and services like psychedelic assisted therapy and examples of packaging that will eventually contain psychedelics.
In February, 9NEWS reported on people who have been microdosing mushrooms for improved mental health.
In that story, Dr. Stacy Fischer, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado who has studied psilocybin use among cancer patients urged caution for those seeking to microdose or macrodose.
“We need to continue to rigorously study this before we offer this up to patients or people who are suffering and saying this is the solution to your problems,” Fischer said.
The conference runs through Friday, June 23.
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