GOP Missouri Lawmaker Talks Need For Psilocybin Therapy For Veterans As He Pushes Reform Bill

Cannabis News World

Feb 1

GOP Missouri Lawmaker Talks Need For Psilocybin Therapy For Veterans As He Pushes Reform Bill
MJ moment

"These are people who want treatment, they want to get better." By Rudi Keller, Missouri Independent The magic in "magic mushrooms" may be the ability to defeat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a St. Charles County Republican lawmaker wants to make them legal in a treatment setting. State Rep. Tony Lovasco (R) of O'Fallon isn't a hippie. He says he's never taken psilocybin mushrooms or smoked a joint. "I've never even smoked a cigarette," he said in an interview with The Independent. "I'm a pretty boring guy." But he's convinced that a growing body of research—and increasing interest from federal regulators—means Missouri should make treatment with the psychoactive mushrooms legal for people over 21. In addition to PTSD, Lovasco's bill would allow psilocybin to be used by people with treatment-resistant depression or who have a terminal illness. The administration of the drug would be by medical professionals in a clinic, hospice or nursing home. "These are very sympathetic people that, you know, are not the kind of folks that you would look at that are drug addicts, or people that are looking to find some loophole in the system to get high," he said. "These are people who want treatment, they want to get better." Psilocybin and other hallucinogens are legal in a handful of locations in the United States. Beginning this month, psilocybin is legal in Oregon in a therapeutic setting for people over 21. In December, police in Portland raided a shop that was selling mushrooms under the name of "Shroom House." In November, Colorado voters approved a ballot measure removing the criminal penalties for possession of psilocybin and other psychedelic drugs. The New Hampshire Supreme Court in 2020 overturned a conviction on the grounds of the right to use and possess psilocybin for religious purposes. — Marijuana…